Results 6,361-6,380 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator and appreciate her absolute honesty on the phrasing of the question. I assure her that the Department will be very open to receiving an email regarding the issue she has raised.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator and acknowledge his very positive and proactive engagement regarding all issues in the education sector in his constituency. He has been particularly vocal regarding this matter. I acknowledge his positive engagement and interaction with me. He is personally invested in seeing this advance. I appreciate having the opportunity to update the Senator on where we are at in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator. I want to articulate my understanding of the dynamism that operates within the school and the provision of excellence in education. I am very impressed that all of the benefits are in place for students in terms of creating a school environment, including the establishment of a student council, to which the Senator referred. I am a great admirer of the operation of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Healthcare Policy (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: The Senator will appreciate that I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State in the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, who is unavailable today. I thank the Senator for raising what I consider to be a timely discussion in the Seanad on an important matter. I am pleased to have this opportunity to inform the House about progress in this important area. Events such as International...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Healthcare Policy (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator for his significant contribution to the House today on this important topic. Any opportunity we have to shine a light on the discussion on men's health and to be proactive in this regard must be seized.As the Senator will be aware from what I said earlier, significant progress has been made on this. As he has indicated, there is a responsibility on all of us collectively...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department received an application for additional school accommodation (ASA) from the school authority in question. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: The project to provide the permanent building for the school referred to by the Deputy is in early architectural planning which involves site surveys, school design stages and the preparation of statutory applications. As with all school building projects, pre-planning meetings are required with the Local Authority in advance of preparing a Planning Application. This is to ensure the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Administrative Arrangements (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy, that notwithstanding the fact that overpayments may sometimes arise, in circumstances where the person who has received the extra payment is not at fault in creating the overpayment, Department officials do not have discretion to waive, or exempt overpayments from recovery. Departments and Offices have an obligation to put repayment plans in place for all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Priorities (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: In recent years school management bodies, school leaders and teacher unions have reported that some schools 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, the Teacher Supply Steering Group, chaired by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: The scheduling of the school holiday periods during the academic years is agreed between the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions and my Department for the purposes of standardising breaks at Christmas, Easter and mid-term. This is important to ensure certainty for the school community about the dates of school holidays. There are no plans to alter the school break at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department continues to work closely with another State body to advance a solution for Killester/Raheny/Clontarf ETNS. The solution under consideration will include arrangements for the school for 2022/23. This permanent site option for the new school is in the school planning area. I understand this process is taking a considerable amount of time but due to the complex nature of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (17 Nov 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: Departmental Schemes (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: I understand Tusla Education Support Service administers a counselling fund scheme since 2015. This scheme is closed to any new recipients since 2012. I am informed that all counselling grants for the 2021/22 academic year have now been approved and the allocations have issued.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department is aware of the challenges currently being experienced and has engaged with the education stakeholders on the issues raised about the current difficulty in accessing substitutes for teacher absences. A range of measures are in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of current challenges. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: TThe information in the attached document provides data on COVID-19 related leave taken by teachers, Special Needs Assistants and also Clerical Officers/Caretakers employed under the 1978/1979 Scheme for the period 6thJanuary to 31stOctober, 2021. The data provided does not include staff employed by ETBs as they have a separate payroll system. A breakdown of monthly data and county data in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Social Media (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department is strongly supportive of the promotion of wellbeing in schools and has a key role to play in the promotion of the wellbeing of children and young people in Ireland. The Department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice sets out the ambition and vision of the Department that the promotion of wellbeing will be at the core of the ethos of every school and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: This matter is currently under examination with a view to a possible long term lease being put in place between my Department and the patrons of St.Corban’s Boys National School. This lease will be conditional on the final area that is decided upon not being required for an educational need in the future. Contact has been made with the school patrons with a view to progressing the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Nov 2021)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, between 2016 and 2020 the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) undertook an extensive review of senior cycle programmes and vocational pathways, to include Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and the Leaving Certificate Established. The review involved a very broad range of research, consultations...