Results 9,021-9,040 of 19,621 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 101 to 103, inclusive, together. Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government. This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (29 Jun 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (29 Jun 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: Educational Disadvantage (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: DEIS - Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the main policy initiative of my Department to address educational disadvantage at school level. My Department will spend approximately €170million on supports for schools under the DEIS programme in 2022.  In the region of €16.2 million was provided to primary and post primary schools in the form of a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The current policy in my Department is not to endorse any products, publications or services from individual providers and hence, it is not possible for us to support or publicise the project referenced to schools. Choices regarding educational materials, textbooks and other educational products as well as digital and online services are made by individual schools and their boards of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The current Social Personal and Health Education Curriculum (SPHE) is for children from junior infants to sixth class. It provides particular opportunities to foster the personal development, health and well-being of the individual child, to help him/her to create and maintain supportive relationships and become an active and responsible citizen in society. Through an SPHE programme that is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The issue of alcohol harm is addressed in the Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme. As students’ progress through an SPHE programme, they will encounter a wide range of issues. These include substance misuse. Schools have a role to play in supporting their students to develop the key skills and knowledge to enable them to make informed choices when faced with a range...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The following link gives the data for pupils enrolled in special schools for the deaf. We have supplied data for academic years 2010-2011 to 2020-2021, the last year we have final enrolment data. We expect to publish the final enrolment data for 2021-2022 by the end of June 2022. ">Special Schools for the Deaf In relation to the number of pupils in mainstream schools who have a hearing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (29 Jun 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 30 September. For the 2022/23 school year, the staffing schedule for primary schools has been improved by one point and schools will be provided with class teachers on the basis...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that investment and expenditure on PE halls is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme. The provision of PE halls form part of the accommodation brief for all new post primary school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered and the costs are therefore not readily available. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Overseas Study Placements (29 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The SEC has announced that it intends to issue Leaving Certificate results this year on September 2 which is in line with the date results issued in both 2020 and 2021. In similar fashion to the last two years, contacts with international counterparts will take place and will continue over the Summer to ensure Irish students continue to have all options available to them. However, at...

Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022: Second Stage (1 Jul 2022)

Norma Foley: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I appreciate the opportunity to introduce and speak on this important legislation, the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022. I fully recognise the importance of inclusive education for all children. It is my primary objective as Minister for Education to promote and support actions that will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The teaching of History in an impartial way is woven into the fabric of the History curricula in Irish schools and associated teacher Continuing Professional Development. The overarching aims of the Leaving Certificate syllabus is to respect and celebrate diversity. The study of History in itself is an opportunity for students to engage with diverse aspects of human experience in a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools and supporting small schools and I am delighted that significant progress has been made. In Budget 2022, I ensured major investment in our primary and post primary schools and brought the teacher allocation ratio in all primary schools to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The Deputy has asked for information on primary and post-primary school places for the 10 years to 2022.  I will arrange to have details forwarded in tabular form. As a summary, I will say that enrolments at primary level over the last 10 years grew from 509,652 in the 2010/11 school year to 567,772 in 2018/19, and have been reducing since then. It is expected that they will continue to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ukraine War (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I want to thank the Deputy for the opportunity to provide an update on supports for students from Ukraine who have come to Ireland. First, I want to highlight the excellent work that our schools have done in welcoming so many children and young people from Ukraine into their communities over the last four months. Our schools have already welcomed a substantial number of children who...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ukraine War (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I want to assure the Deputy that meeting the educational needs of children and young people from Ukraine is a priority for me as Minister and for the Government. We are determined to support for the huge efforts we are seeing from our school communities across the country, who have shown huge commitment and generosity in meeting the needs of all Ukrainian children. Of course, the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) develops the curriculum, at the Minster for Education's request, through their representative structures. When developing subject specifications, the NCCA convenes specialist subject development groups. Such a group was established to draft specifications for Junior Cycle Irish. NCCA processes around seeking suitable nominations...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that new schools are established, by my Department, on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area, and only 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, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: Access to Relationships and Sexuality Education, or RSE, is an important right for students. This is reflected in the Programme for Government, which states that this Government will develop inclusive and age appropriate curricula for RSE and Social, Personal and Health Education across all schools. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (the NCCA) was requested to conduct a...