Results 12,021-12,040 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for my Department. In order to plan for school place needs, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: For school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Major new residential developments in a school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a number of policies and programmes which are supportive of afterschool clubs or activities for students at risk of educational disadvantage. DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is a key policy initiative of the Department of Education to address educational disadvantage at school level. In the 2022/23 academic year there are over 1,200...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools. In Budget 2023, I ensured major investment in our schools and I have succeeded in bringing the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools for the 2023/24 school year which is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country, including North...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to the Board of Management of the school. I can confirm that a Design Team was appointed by the school in March 2022. The Design Team is now preparing the Stage 1 report (preliminary design). Thereafter, it will ensure that the project obtains the necessary statutory planning permission, and will be responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The permanent accommodation for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department’s Design and Build Programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Management team to progress the project through the stages of architectural planning, tendering and construction. It is intended that the school will move to suitable interim...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Kildare & Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). The Design Team is currently preparing the Stage 2a report (developed design) for submission and the Department understands from KWETB that the report is nearing completion. It is a matter for KWETB, as the client for the project, to ensure that this is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department's Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023 in the context of its available funding. My Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is €860 million. High construction inflation remains a continuing feature of the construction sector for 2023. As part of its planning ahead for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for each individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). The deployment of teaching staff in a school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first...

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: There are myriad reasons I am proud to vote confidence in the Government. I will use my speaking time to outline briefly some of those reasons in my area of education. Simply put, the Government has progressed landmark reforms and investment in the education sector. All of them have been chosen to create the best possible opportunities and experiences for our children and young people, as...

Education and the School Building Programme: Motion [Private Members] (29 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: At the outset, I would like to be associated with Deputy Ó Ríordáin's words on the former Minister, Niamh Bhreathnach. I remember her with great fondness and have had the opportunity to say so in this House. She was truly a visionary woman who made an extraordinary contribution to the world of education. We are certainly the lesser for her passing. I acknowledge that in the...

Education and the School Building Programme: Motion [Private Members] (29 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I will text for it. I apologise. That is my mistake. I will ensure it is included. The forthcoming NDP review to be undertaken later in 2023 will be key to dealing with the type of issues referenced in the motion regarding project roll-out in future years and addressing any capacity constraints at primary and post-primary level. I will turn now to other areas raised in the Private...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (28 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department's priority is to ensure integration and inclusion for all pupils seeking international protection in addition to ensuring full utilisation of existing school capacity. On-site education facilities do not assist those aims. Utilisation of each school’s existing capacity in the most flexible way possible will be key to supporting all children seeking international...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (28 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (28 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (28 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 359, 360, 362 and 363 together. Since June 2020, and over the past three Budgets, I have secured funding to support measures aimed at ensuring that all children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. One of the most important policies in this regard has been the establishment of Ireland’s first national...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (28 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for each individual school authority as the employer. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities. Post primary schools employ teachers with the...