Results 8,001-8,020 of 19,601 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (5 Apr 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 question to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (5 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department will be supporting schools by providing education resources for schools in Ukrainian which they can then provide to parents. It is not expected that schools will need to translate resources themselves. Included among the wide array of resources is information in relation to free digital tools, including apps that can assist with text and voice translation. These resources are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (5 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: Information in relation to consultancy expenditure in my Department is compiled annually in respect of the previous year and published online at www.gov.ie/en/collection/department-of-education-and-skills- expenditure-on-consultancy/. The data in respect of 2021 is being compiled at present and will be published online as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has no current record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the school in question. The school previously received funding from my department under the Emergency Works Scheme and Summer Works Scheme in respect of toilet facilities. The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2(b) which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. A Brief Change request had been approved in principle by my Department and a Brief Change report was submitted by the school and its Design Team, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: The criteria for the award of Incremental Credit for previous experience is outlined in Circular 0139/2006 for special needs assistants (SNAs), and was agreed in the first instance, by the Teacher Conciliation Council (TCC). This Council is comprised of representatives of the teacher unions, school management bodies, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: From September 2022 the DEIS programme is being extended to benefit 347 schools. These schools will access all supports under the programme to match their respective DEIS band. Schools are assigned to the DEIS bands based on the location of the school and their level of concentrated educational disadvantage. The school referred to by the Deputy is a rural DEIS primary school. Amongst other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Tax Reliefs (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: I am glad to advise the Deputy that a travel pass scheme is available to nearly 80,000 contracted teaching and non-teaching school staff paid by my Department. The terms of the travel pass scheme operated by my Department are laid out in Departmental Circular 56/2020. A policy decision was made when the scheme was introduced to facilitate the Taxsaver tickets on a yearly basis through my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (6 Apr 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 question to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to assure the Deputy that the provision of appropriate accommodation for pupils with special education needs is an absolute priority for my Department. This is in two respects: firstly in ensuring that there is sufficient provision for pupils with special education needs and secondly in designing school accommodation that meets the needs of all users - students and staff - and enhances...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: I recently announced that from next September the DEIS programme will be extended to an additional 310 schools. 37 schools will also benefit from additional supports following reclassification. Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: From September 2022 the DEIS programme is being extended to benefit 347 schools. These schools will access all supports under the programme to match their respective DEIS band. Schools are assigned to the DEIS bands based on the location of the school and their level of concentrated educational disadvantage. The school referred to by the Deputy is a rural DEIS primary school. Amongst...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Standards for initial teacher education (ITE) at primary, all student teachers must complete a 4 week Gaeltacht learning period (GLP) (2x 2 weeks) as part of their programme. This is compulsory in order to graduate. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional Gaeltacht learning periods could not go ahead as planned and the Department and Teaching Council agreed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 110, 111, 112, 113, 114 and 115 together. ETBs and Principals have a responsibility for the quality and effectiveness of education and the management of staff in a school as set out in the Education Act 1998. Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 provides for the suspension and dismissal of teachers and principals by employers. The Minister for Education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: The financial package approved by Government to support schools recognises that COVID-19 poses significant challenges for schools and has made provision for additional funding which is being provided to schools to meet costs relating to COVID-19. Schools have been provided with a range of COVID-19 capitation grants to cater for enhanced cleaning regimes and the purchase of necessary supplies...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: Ireland’s 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) were established on 1 July 2013. They have statutory responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other functions. ETBs manage and operate second-level schools, further education colleges delivering adult and community education and training programmes, and multi-faith community national schools. The general...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department, in consultation with Bus Éireann, is putting in place a new process to facilitate the provision of School Transport Scheme Services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. Children will be accommodated on existing services where there is capacity. Children will not be charged for their ticket and normal eligibility criteria will be waived. If there is no service or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: The provision of Irish-medium education is a priority for my Department and the Government, and we share a strong commitment to increasing the number of Irish-medium places available and providing suitable accommodation in this regard. As the Deputy may be aware, new schools are established by my Department on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area, and after consideration...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (6 Apr 2022)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers will remain in their current interim location for 2022/23 academic school year.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (6 Apr 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. The purpose of the Department's...