Results 6,081-6,100 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Budget 2022 has provided for an allocation of €18million for 2022 and €32million for 2023 to extend the DEIS programme to further schools with the highest levels of disadvantage. This represents an increase of over 20% in funding for the DEIS programme and will enable an expansion in 2022 of the programme to further schools. This package follows an extensive body of work...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: A range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of Covid-19. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute Teacher Supply Panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. Further work is underway to ascertain if there are ways the operation of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The school building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department’s Design and Build Programme. On June 14th 2021, this project was included in a bundle of projects which were tendered to a newly established Design & Build Contractors Framework. Once a Contractor has been appointed, my Department will keep the school informed of the construction...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: A range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of Covid-19. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute Teacher Supply Panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. Further work is underway to ascertain if there are ways the operation of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (20 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.  All children who are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 149 together. A range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of Covid-19. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute Teacher Supply Panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. Further work is underway to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Access to sexual and health education is an important right for students. Schools have a responsibility to provide for this, in consultation with parents, having regard to the ethos of the school.  Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary schools and in post-primary junior cycle. Relationships and Sexuality Education (or RSE) is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for school places in a number of school planning areas including the school planning area to which the Deputy refers. Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors: - Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 was signed into law on the 18thJuly 2018. The overall objective of the Act is to provide a new framework for school enrolment that is designed to ensure that every child is treated fairly and that the way in which schools decide on applications for admission is structured, fair and transparent. The following provisions have been commenced and are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: All recognised schools are required to comply fully with the act. The overall objective of the Act is to provide a framework for school enrolment that is designed to ensure that every child is treated fairly and that the way in which schools decide on applications for admission is structured, fair and transparent. The new arrangement also involve new appeal procedures for applicants where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I am conscious that student who are due to take their Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022 have experienced a degree of disruption to their learning. My Department co-chairs an Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations in conjunction with the State Examinations Commission. The group was originally established to consider contingency arrangements for the 2020 Leaving Certificate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, to identify where additional school accommodation is needed at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (20 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.  My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (20 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: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (20 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools.  At primary level, the annual staffing schedule determines the allocation of teachers to schools. The current allocation is on an average ratio of 1 classroom teacher for every 25 pupils.  Budget 2022 has implemented a further 1...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Programmes (21 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department's commitment in the Programme for Government to expand access to social innovation programmes to all post-primary schools is ongoing..  In recent years, for example, my Department has provided a grant in aid and  also disimbursed Dormant Accounts Funding to 'The Young Social Innovators’ (YSI).  The YSI, pay particular attention to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (21 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 and 211 together. The permanent school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy has been assigned to my Department’s Design & Build delivery programme which uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction.  The project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (21 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: The major building project referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert and Disability Access Cert and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. The Design Team is currently working on the finalisation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (21 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: Access to teachers pay scales is determined by the date a teacher is first appointed to an Oireachtas funded teaching post in Ireland. An offer of employment does not determine access to teachers pay scales. A person first appointed to an Oireachtas funded teaching post in January 2011 and whose date of first qualified teaching service is before 5 December 2011 will be paid on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Functions (21 Oct 2021)

Norma Foley: A parent/ guardian or pupil aged 18+ may apply to their school for an exemption from the study of Irish. The only exceptional circumstances in which a recognised school can grant an exemption from the study of Irish are set out in circulars 0052/2019 (primary) and 0053/2019 (post primary). In all other cases, schools are required to address a wide diversity of need by providing a...