Results 5,221-5,240 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (6 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The Department’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice first published in 2018 and refreshed in 2019. The approach proposed is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include providing children and young people with opportunities to: - build core social and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (6 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school on behalf of the Patron. The Department published Circular 32/2017 in 2017 which introduced measures to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs. This includes principles of cost-effective practices to be adopted, including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (6 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 330 and 331 together. The Government has always been guided by public health advice in relation to what is safe in schools. Public health remain of the view that schools are low risk environments and that the infection prevention and control measures in place in school are effective. The CMO has also made it very clear in his advices to Government...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (6 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education are pleased to confirm the acquisition of approximately 22 acres at Shanlothe, Trim, Co. Meath for the provision of permanent accommodation for Scoil Mhuire Post Primary school. It is intended the 22 acre site will cater for additional educational facilities in the future, if required. With regard to capacity levels in secondary schools in Trim, there are 2...

Education (Student and Parent Charter) Bill 2019 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to be in a position to bring the Bill to the House. The Bill has been passed by the Seanad, where it received cross-party support. I believe this is important legislation as it seeks to provide a clear framework for schools in regard to engagement within their school communities and between home and school. As Members will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Schools have been advised that it is expected that they will continue to operate with the current infection prevention and control measures outlined in school covid response plans to support their safe operation during Covid-19 when they reopen in for the 2021/2022 school year. Schools will continue to be supported in terms of the additional resources necessary to provide for these measures....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that this project has been incorporated into an Additional School Accommodation project and the section overseeing this project has been in touch with the school and a decision will issue shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The school has sufficient accommodation in their current location for September 2021. My Department will shortly be exploring options with regard to the school’s further interim accommodation requirements for September 2022 and will continue to liaise with the school and patron in relation to same. A number of sites in the Galway City East/Oranmore area have been identified and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Officials in my Department are working closely with officials from Galway County and City Councils under the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable permanent location for the school. A number of site options have been identified and discussions with these landowners are ongoing. When the site has been acquired the project will then...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020. The purpose of my Department's School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that the additional information mentioned has been received, the school increased the scope of works without prior approval from the Department and therefore we are not in a position to fund the increased costs.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The school building project referred to by the Deputy is currently at construction stage with construction expected to take twelve months. While accommodation for special classes is not included in this phase of the development, accommodation for four special education tuition rooms is included. It is intended that the next phase of the development will include accommodation for special classes.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Accommodation for special needs pupils will form part of the brief in respect of the school referred to by the Deputy. My Department is waiting on the school in question to submit an application under the Additional Accommodation Scheme to enable a decision be made on the type of building project required.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (7 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In accordance with Department , which is available on the Department’s website under www.education.ie, schools are required to employ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Leaving Certificate subject specifications are developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in line with prevailing government policy on curriculum and assessment. The development process is a thorough one involving extensive consultation, following which the subject specification is approved through the representative structures of the NCCA and subsequently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department provides each of the sixteen Education and Training Board (ETB) with a staffing allocation to support its schools, colleges, head office and other centres of education. In providing these supports, it is the responsibility of each ETB to recruit and manage staffing levels within this allocation and to deploy staff in roles in accordance with the priorities and needs as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I can inform the Deputy that the average direct pay and non-pay cost per annum of employing an Educational Psychologist in my Department's NEPS service is €75,000 per annum. The estimated annual additional cost, therefore, of employing 100 psychologists would be €7.5m. It should be noted, however, that a recruitment exercise on such a relatively extensive scale would require in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the patron of the school referred to, Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB), will progress the delivery of interim accommodation to address the school’s accommodation requirement for the 2021/22 academic year. KWETB, fully supported by the Department, and fully conscious of the urgent need for this interim accommodation, is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB). I can confirm that a Design Team to deliver this project has been appointed by WWETB. The Design Team is currently preparing the Stage 1 report (preliminary design). While at this early stage it is not possible to provide a timeline for completion of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Seirbhísí Leathanbhanda (8 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy is currently on a wireless service of up to 60mb/s, with the service recently increased to this speed by the current service provider, through the Schools Broadband Programme. The school was included in a recent tender for services run by my Department, and awarded to a provider of high speed broadband. The installation has been delayed however, due to a...