Results 7,841-7,860 of 20,002 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: Ownership and control of school property is a complex issue, both constitutionally and in terms of property law and rights.  Typically, it can involve religious trusts, trustees, religious orders, the bishops both as landowners and school patrons and the State. Where a school property is in the Minister’s ownership, a leasing arrangement will not arise. However, for historical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware I recently announced that arrangements are being put in place in a number of towns and areas of cities that have no multi-denominational primary schools to identify potential schools and to engage with school authorities, school staff and the school communities with a view to agreeing on a transfer of patronage and change of ethos, where there is sufficient demand...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The purpose of the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. This situation can arise where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (23 Mar 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 has made a temporary amendment to Regulation 7 of the Education Act 1998 (Unregistered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. 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 €289m in 2021. Under the terms of the Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The purpose of the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. This situation can arise where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has engaged the services of the company to which she refers in her question during the period 2011 to March 2022. This company provided services on 25 occasions during this period for a total value of €12,552.96. The breakdown of the annual cost of these services is set out in the attached table. Word Perfect Translations...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2022)

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. Further analysis 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: School Patronage (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that new schools are established by the Department on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area, and after consideration of the capacity of existing schools to absorb the expected school place demand. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 to 94, inclusive, together. The position in respect of school amalgamations is that the decision making authority belongs to the patron of the school in question. Any proposal to amalgamate a school requires consultation with the relevant stakeholders including parents, teachers, students and local communities. Such proposals must then be agreed with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The Department launched a two-year action research project in 2021 aimed at supporting small rural schools by encouraging a number of small schools to cluster together in local groups enabling them to collaborate and identify common challenges and trial innovative solutions. This project was developed by a working group of school management bodies and teachers’ unions with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 97 together. My Department launched a two-year action research project in 2021 aimed at supporting small rural schools by encouraging a number of small schools to cluster together in local groups, enabling them to collaborate and identify common challenges and trial innovative solutions. This project was developed by a working group of school management...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Costs (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs including heating, lighting etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. These grants may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is not in receipt of 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: School Accommodation (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding was approved under the Additional Accommodation Scheme to enable the school in question to build 1 Mainstream classroom & en-suite toilets, 1 SET room and 1 WC for assisted users. The school was recently approved to proceed to construction for the above approved accommodation. I can confirm that no further additional accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: 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 €289m in 2021. Under the terms of the School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September. The staffing arrangements also include a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September. Budget 2022 progressed the ongoing major investment in our primary education sector which impacts positively on the staffing in primary schools by providing a further 1 point reduction...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I can inform the Deputy that my Department does not currently hold any contracts with the company to which the Deputy refers.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The major building project referred to by the Deputy is currently completing Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which involves the production of a complex and detailed set of tender documents and an accurate pre-tender cost check by the Design Team, in accordance with my Departments Technical Guidance Documents, Building Regulations and Public Works Procurement procedures. The Design Team...