Results 541-560 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the requirement to provide funding to support enhanced cleaning needs and we will provide further details of the support available once the arrangements are finalised. Arrangements have also been made for a drawdown framework to be established to enable schools purchase hand-sanitisers for use in the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: As part of the implementation of the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 - Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Assessment, funding of €210m for ICT Infrastructure will be distributed by my Department to primary and second level schools over the five years of the Strategy. €110m has issued over the last three years and a further €50m has recently been issued in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The proposed building at City West is State-owned and within my Department's control. It has provided high quality, fully serviced, permanently constructed accommodation for two other primary schools up until last September. There is currently over 30 permanent classrooms, full staff facilities, ancillary rooms and an external play area available for occupation before the start of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.  In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: Draft guidelines were developed to provide clarity to schools around reduced timetables and to set out the procedures to be followed by schools where such an option is being considered and used. The guidelines provide for TUSLA Education Support Service to be notified if a reduced timetable is implemented. The aim is to ensure that the use of reduced timetables is limited solely to those...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: A system of Calculated Grades was put in place by my predecessor due to the inability to run the normal Leaving Certificate examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students. For the calculated grades...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: Budget 2020 has provided for a budget of more than €11 billion for the Department of Education and Skills in 2020. This is the highest ever allocation to the sector and an increase of nearly €2 billion since 2016.  The number of teachers has increased from 63,556 in 2015/16 to almost 70,900 in 2019/20, an increase of over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: On Wednesday 1 July 2020, I welcomed the publication of interim public health advice for the safe re-opening of schools in late August/ September. This interim health advice sets out the key public health requirements that will be required for a safe full reopening of schools and the measures that will be required to achieve this.   Receipt of public health advice will underpin...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is in regular communication with the school’s patron body, Educate Together, on this and other accommodation matters and the patron body keeps its school communities updated on an ongoing basis in relation to such matters.  The school were offered an opportunity to view the Citywest accommodation in December last.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is in regular communication with the School’s patron body Educate Together to discuss accommodation and all other relevant matters in relation to their school communities. The accommodation available to the school in CItywest consist of 10 full size classrooms, resource rooms, offices and specialist rooms. The accommodation is more than adequate to provide for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: On Wednesday 1 July 2020, I welcomed the publication of interim public health advice for the safe re-opening of schools in late August/September. This interim health advice sets out the key public health requirements that will be required for a safe full reopening of schools and the measures that will be required to achieve this. Receipt of public health advice and the Return to Work...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a book grant to all recognised primary and post primary schools within the Free Education Scheme in order to provide assistance for books including Book Rental Schemes. Under this scheme, the Department provided funding of €16.9 million in 2019 to all of these schools. Additional funding of €1million provided under Budget 2020 was allocated to 102 Primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home School Community Liaison Scheme (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: Based on an average cost of one Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Coordinator position of circa €55,500, an additional 10 HSCL Coordinators would be in the order of € 555,000. The HSCL Scheme is a school-based intervention provided to DEIS schools to address the needs of all pupils/families at risk of educational disadvantage through acknowledging and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Garda Vetting (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: In April 2016, the Minister for Justice and Equality commenced the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 (the Vetting Act) which put in place statutory requirements for the Garda vetting of persons involved in working with children and vulnerable persons. The Vetting Act applies not just to schools but to any relevant organisation that employs,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The current entry level qualification for Special Needs Assistants is set out in my Department's circular 0051/2019 which requires a FETAC level 3 major qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications, OR a minimum of three grade Ds in the Junior Certificate, OR the Equivalent. This remains unchanged.  The Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the requirement to provide funding to support enhanced cleaning needs and we will provide further details of the support available once the arrangements are finalised. Arrangements have also been made made for a drawdown framework to be established to enable schools purchase hand-sanitisers for use in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: A system of Calculated Grades was put in place by my predecessor due to the inability to run the normal Leaving Certificate examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students. For the calculated grades...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The number one priority for my Department and the wider schools sector is to re-open our schools as fully, normally and safely as possible at the start of the new school year. The interests of students and their families, as well as the safety of the staff in our schools, are at the centre of all considerations as we work through the various challenges associated with that aim. The re-opening...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (14 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to inform the Deputy that the project to which she refers has been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects. The NDFA is currently undertaking the second phase of the process of appointment of multi-disciplinary technical advisors (design teams) for these projects. Thereafter, it will ensure...