Results 7,081-7,100 of 19,598 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Road Safety (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: The road in question will ultimately be in the charge of the local authority referred to by the Deputy. The ‘taking in charge’ process is ongoing and any queries in relation to the future installation of a pedestrian crossing at that location would be a matter for the local authority to consider.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 279 together. School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department recently received an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Educational Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State. It acts in the interests of the public good while upholding and enhancing standards in the teaching profession. The Teaching Council assesses overseas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: As recently announced, the Teaching Council is now working to put processes and procedures in place to support the registration and vetting of 3rd and 4th year student teachers. In addition, pending the development of those processes and procedures by the Teaching Council, the Department of Education is examining how the '5 day rule' is impacting 3rd and 4th year student teachers.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, utilising data from a range of sources including child benefit data, departmental pupil databases, CSO statistics and information on recent and planned housing developments to forecast school place requirements at primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (27 Jan 2022)

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: Early School Leavers (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: Estimates of Early School Leavers (ESL) are arrived at by subtracting the number of students who sat the Leaving Certificate in 2019 or received a calculated grade in 2020 from the number of pupils who entered first year in the 2014-15 school year. The entry cohort is adjusted for recorded emigration, deceased students and students who repeat based on six years of academic year data. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: To provide additional support in the context of Covid-19 the payment of a minor works grant totalling €45m for primary schools and special schools, plus a once-off Covid-19 minor works funding of €17m for post-primary schools, was issued in December 2021. The minor works funding is a capital grant and provides good flexibility to address issues at local school level. The works...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department provides capitation funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme. The main grant is the capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs including heating costs. My Department has ensured that centrally negotiated rates are available to schools for electricity and bulk heating fuels. These rates are available through existing frameworks sourced by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (27 Jan 2022)

Norma Foley: Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance for schools on Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools was provided at the end of May following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing COVID-19. The updated guidance for schools is also...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: Budget 2022 has provided for an allocation of €18 million for 2022 and €32 million for 2023 to extend the delivery of DEIS programme to further schools with the highest levels of disadvantage. This package represents an increase of more than 20% on the €150 million already allocated by my Department to provide supports for schools in the DEIS programme. The programme...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: We intend to be in a position to roll out the DEIS model for 2022. We have an ambition programme of funding being made available for it. It was a considerable achievement that, for budget 2022, there was €18 million available, rising to €32 million in 2023, with the explicit intention of enhancing or extending the DEIS model in our schools. A greater number of schools will be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: Again, to confirm to the Deputy, the process of refining the DEIS identification model has been a consequence of and is reliant on the engagement of a variety of stakeholders, as I have already outlined, including school management, national parent representative bodies, unions and so on, particularly with regard to the technical aspects of the refinement. In advance of completion and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Reform (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Murphy for his question. I watched much of the discussion this evening on "Six One". In the main, students asked for clarity regarding leaving certificate 2022 and they acknowledged they have received that. In fact, the students asked for four things when I met them. The second thing they asked was that there would be additional changes made to the exam papers and we have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Reform (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: To the Deputy's suggestion that we are just ploughing on I would say, far from it. He should take time to study what has been put in place in terms of these exams in June. It is very clear the exams in June are very different from what has been offered previously. For example, students studying maths would traditionally have had ten questions to answer but there is such significant choice...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Reform (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: I have to be very clear that the question of access to higher education is a policy matter which is not under my remit but under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I am aware it is a key of objective of that Department to ensure there is access into either further or higher education for each person who wishes to pursue...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Reform (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: I am just making the point the Deputy said-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Reform (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: -----very clearly that we have not answered the needs of students, but I am saying we specifically went through each of the four issues that were raised by students. They asked for clarity, greater choice and that we would address the issues of grade inflation and accredited grades. We were able to address three out of four of those issues for them, but because of an absence of data, we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (1 Feb 2022)

Norma Foley: In recent weeks, I have attended a meeting with the advisory group on State examinations, which has representatives of students, parents, teachers, managerial bodies, the further and higher education sector, and the State Examinations Commission, SEC. Following on from this meeting, I met with the members of the advisory group on a bilateral basis and also had further engagement with each of...