Results 2,541-2,560 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Brexit Issues (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: Brexit will bring change in terms of managing relationships between education systems, North and South, and East West.  While many of the potential negative impacts of Brexit in terms of education have been mitigated through the Memorandum of Understanding on the Common Travel Area, my Department's focus has been on protecting and strengthening the collaboration between our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The question of enrolment in individual schools, including the setting of catchment areas are the responsibility of the school authorities. It is the responsibility of the school authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: It is the responsibility of my Department to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area.  Parents/guardians can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to draft, publish and implement a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pay (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 to 104, inclusive, and 106 together. Officials from my Department are collating the information that is available from the payroll databases on the matter raised by the Deputy. I will arrange for the information to be forwarded direct to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pay (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department does not currently have all the information requested to hand. While my Department is moving to a payroll shared services model for ETBs through the Education Shared Business Services, some of the ETBs still manage and administer their own individual payrolls. My Department will make contact with the ETBs to compile the requested information. This information will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Minor Works Scheme (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that the school in question should use its Minor Works Grant to complete these works; minor works payments issued to primary schools during July and a further payment will issue in December of this year. Alternatively the school may apply under my Department's Summer Works Scheme when it next opens for applications.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, in order to plan for school provision my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, to identify where a demand for additional school places  ;will arise.  Included in the data analysed is Child Benefit data and, for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act 1998.  In schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process may be necessary. The selection process used by schools and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department has an enhanced Occupational Health Service (OHS) in place to provide employers with occupational health advice in relation to employees’ fitness for work.  Medmark, the current OHS provider has a process in place for school staff with health concerns about their risk of serious illness from contracting COVID-19, through workplace attendance. A detailed on-line...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (18 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware capital funding has been approved, for the school in question, to provide essential mainstream classroom accommodation. The project is currently devolved to the school authority. The immediate priority of my Department is providing 20,000 new and replacement school places each year, to ensure that every child has access to a school place. Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 213, 215 and 230 together. My Department made a decision in 2017, based on advice received from the Teaching Council, to set higher Minimum Entry Requirement Standards (MERS) to primary teaching for Leaving Certificate Mathematics, English and Irish  with effect from September 2019 as follows: Entry 2018 - Irish: H5, English: H7/O5, Maths: H7/O6 Entry...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area. Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: Schools by their nature are generally much larger at post-primary level than at primary level.  There are also a wide variety of specialist rooms and various plant and equipment at post-primary level that would not be a feature at primary level. This all adds to a greater level of complexity to the management and operation of post-primary schools to have them ready for re-opening for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pay (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that officials in my Department have been in contact with the teacher involved and are resolving the pay issue.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, the school referred to opened in September 2020. The patron has made arrangements to accommodate the school in existing interim accommodation that is available to the Patron. My Department understands that the patron proposes to relocate the school to an alternative school building when it becomes available.  There are no plans at this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Minor Works Scheme (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: Under Project Ireland 2040 the Minor Works Grant (MWG) is paid to primary schools in either December or January of each school year. This year, due to the exceptional circumstances arising from COVID-19, €29m was paid under the Minor Works Grant to primary schools in the free scheme in July 2020. There was also an additional funding of €75m under the July Stimulus programme...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, on 27 July last the Government published the Roadmap for the Full Return to School, along with details of a significant financial package to support the implementation of the measures in the roadmap, following approval by the Government. The package of supports were expected to cost in excess of €437 million in the 2020/2021 school year....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (19 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: My officials have been in contact with the agencies under the remit of my Department in regard to the Deputy's query.I am advised that there are no third party contracts that fall within the scope of the Deputy's question.