Results 10,041-10,060 of 19,632 for speaker:Norma Foley

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: There is a comprehensive policy being worked on in terms of a strategy for teaching Irish in schools outside of Gaeltachts. This will complement the teaching of the Irish language, and how it is being provided for within the Gaeltachts. There is a substantial body of work being done there. On the question of how does the senior cycle fit into the general strategy, as I have said...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: There is a public consultation stream that will come on stream in the next three or four weeks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: There is already a body of work under way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: On the whole Gaeltacht policy, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The life centre requested some clarifications about what was published originally. The Department was happy to take on board the clarifications that the centre requested and they have subsequently been published.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes. It is my understanding that the clarifications sought were catered for.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The review of the out-of-school education provision was a review of all of the centres and was not unique to the Cork Life Centre. I have met representatives from the Cork Life Centre and I have also taken the opportunity to meet the parents and guardians, the staff and the students. I acknowledge the excellent ongoing work that takes place at the centre. There are other centres as well....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The issue is that centres operate differently. There is no unanimity and no singular overall policy regarding these centres.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: No, there are different circumstances.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes. It is 6,000 co-operation hours.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: In addition, €177,500 is being provided by the Department. That is a significant increase in funding in the context of what was available in recent years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The terms and conditions of employment, including salary, are dictated by the environment in which one teaches. The centres, which is how we refer to them, are out-of-school providers. This means that they are not within the general and traditional experience of schooling. I know that the issue raised by the Deputy is one that is particularly important and pertinent to the Cork Life Centre...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: It is for that reason we are having a review. We now have an implementation group, a chair has been appointed and there is considerable representation on the group. Co-operation hours apply in other centres. Traditionally, it has been the case where staff are employed under the terms and conditions that are aligned with the arrangements that are in place but take regard of where the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I will be clear on the commitment of the Department to the Cork Life Centre. There is a very clear and obvious commitment by the Department. Again, there is significant funding of €177,500 going from the Department directly to Cork Life Centre and 6,000 co-operation hours between ourselves and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes, led by Dr. Noel Purdy and the steering group. There has been specific engagement with children and young people from all different backgrounds, including very specifically children from Traveller and Roma backgrounds. These engagements are feeding into the process of the steering group and an impressive body of work has already been done. This committee has fed very proactively into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The school transport review is a significant and important body of work. Nobody appreciates it more than me, coming from an area that is very dependent on the access provided by school transport. The review is a body of work that has been comprehensive in terms of its consultation. There have been thousands of engagements with students, parents, guardians, those using the service and,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: Yes, absolutely, as part of our network schools. On modern languages, we had a very successful roll-out of the modern language sampler in our primary schools last year, which has proved very positive and attractive to schools, and a large number of schools, in excess of 700, if I recall correctly, sought to take it up. The beauty of it is that there was a whole diversity of languages used,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I appreciate that. The €50 million investment to secure it for primary level was a significant investment, but a good one. It is my intention and ambition to embed this at primary school level and then the next obvious step would be to move it to post-primary. It was important to start the scheme at the beginning of the education experience, so we are beginning with primary, but it...