Results 6,001-6,020 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020. Planning for school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department generally include a Special Education Needs (SEN) Base in all new schools, as well as replacement school buildings and major extensions. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs, in consultation with the relevant education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I am aware that in recent years school management bodies, school leaders and teacher unions have reported that some schools, including in Dublin city and county, are experiencing difficulties in recruiting teachers, particularly substitute teachers at both primary and post-primary levels and teachers of certain subjects at post-primary level. In response to these difficulties in March 2018,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 and 258 together. As part of the COVID-19 supports provided to schools in 2020, additional funding of €41.2 million was allocated to provide primary schools with substitute staff. This funding allowed for the expansion of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel from a pilot scheme consisting of 6 base schools to 132 Substitute Teacher Supply Panels...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools. As part of the Budget 2021 measures, the Government have delivered on this commitment by the announcement of a 1 point change to the primary staffing schedule and the introduction of a three point reduction in the number of pupils needed to retain a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I recognise the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable. In total 1700 additional leadership posts have been invested in our primary schools since the lifting of the moratorium on posts of responsibility in 2017, which has led to 1 in 3 teachers now holding promoted positions. The Department has committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I understand the need for improved capitation funding and I am pleased that budget 2020 has been able to provide for a further 2.5% increase in standard capitation funding for primary and post-primary schools that applied from the start of the 2020/21 school year. This builds on the 5% increase in capitation announced in budget 2019. The combined increases given in 2019 and 2020 mean that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The National Development Plan 2021-2030 which was published on 4th Oct 2021, provides capital funding of over €4.4bn for investment in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025. During the period 2021 to 2025, the NDP allocation for the School Education sector will provide for - an average of 150 to 200 school building projects will be delivered annually over the period...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Among the COVID-19 supports provided for the 2020/21 school year, additional measures for the provision of substitution were introduced. The Substitute Teacher Supply Panel was extended and currently almost 380 newly appointed Supply Panel teachers are employed, providing substitute cover to over 2,500 schools across the country. These substitute Supply Panels are not the sole means whereby...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: An application under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme was received from the school referred by the Deputy. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 264, 266, 269 and 270 together. Updates in respect of the four schools referred to by the Deputy are as follows: St Damien's, RN 19943M This school was granted approval for conversion works and a partial new build to create a 1 class SEN Base in March 2021 under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2021. It is currently at design stage and the School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Development Plan (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The National Development Plan 2021-2030 which was published on 4thOctober 2021, provides capital funding of over €4.4bn for investment in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025. This investment will build on the good progress being made on adding capacity to cater for demographic changes and provision for children with special educational needs. This investment will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The planned establishment of a new post-primary school in 2021 to serve the Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/Cherrywood school planning area was announced in 2018 as a result of a countrywide demographic exercise. A further exercise has since been conducted on the necessity for the establishment of a number of planned new schools, including the school to serve this school planning area, taking into...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of the tender process. Unfortunately, the recommended bidder withdrew from the tender process after they had been offered the contract and subsequently a number of the shortlisted tenderers have withdrawn from the process. In accordance with procedures, the Design Team have proceeded to the next lowest tenderer to ascertain if...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department has reached agreement in principle with the Local Authority to acquire a site for the proposed development of a new school building for the school referred to by the Deputy. The Local Authority has provided my Department with consent to lodge planning permission for the new school on these lands while this acquisition is being concluded. The permanent school building project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020. Planning for school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were 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 the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Costs (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The Education (Admission to Schools) Act, 2018, specifically prohibits the charging of fees or seeking payment or contributions for an application for admission to a school or for the continued enrolment of a student in a school. This applies to all recognised primary and post primary schools with exceptions only for fee charging secondary schools, boarding schools and schools that provide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (12 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were 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 the...