Results 13,681-13,700 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers is a campus project and has been devolved for delivery to Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board (GRETB). I am pleased to inform the Deputy, that the project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning process and planning permission has been granted. My Department now awaits submission of the Stage 2b Report from the ETB. Once...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The schools referred to by the Deputy are part of a major building project to provide a new 24 classroom school building for Athenry Amalgamated NS which will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme. ADAPT is an acronym for the "Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering". The ADAPT programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that a new school building for the school in question was completed in 2019. The new school provides capacity for a minimum of 1,000 pupils as well as accommodation for students with special education needs. In the context of meeting the demographic demand for post primary provision in this school planning area, additional capacity is proposed for two other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Data Protection (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: Please see below in tabular form the number of data breaches that occurred in my Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023, and the numbers which were reported to the Data Protection Commission (the remainder were deemed to be of no risk due to their nature and therefore were not required to be reported to the DPC). Year No. of Breaches No. of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is not in receipt of an application from the school in question for recognition. Private primary schools are not recognised schools under the Education Act, 1998 and therefore do not fall within the remit of the Minister for Education. The Department has no responsibility regarding funding or any other matter relating to private primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department is closely monitoring the situation in the UK with regard to the identification of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in schools and other public buildings. RAAC is a lightweight, ‘bubbly’ form of concrete commonly used in construction in the UK between the 1950s and mid-1990s. It is predominantly found as precast panels in roofs (commonly flat...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Projects (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The establishment of a national memorial for children who were victims of abuse in residential institutions is the final outstanding recommendation of the Final Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Ryan Report, which was published in 2009. For a number of years, the Department has ring-fenced capital funding of €500,000 for this purpose. However, a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the 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 will arise and where additional school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I understand that the School Authority has been granted capital funding under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration & Modular Accommodation Programme for the provision of 2 x Special Educational Needs classrooms with 100m2 soft-play area and 2 x Special Education tuition rooms. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy reached substantial completion in August 2023. The project brief was for a new school building on the existing site to accommodate 1,200 pupils and accommodation, including 4 classrooms, for children with special educational needs. The current site works could only commence once the new school building was fully...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published last year and is underpinned by an investment of €200m to support its implementation, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The first tranche of €50m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in late 2021. The previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 saw overall...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, my Department approved funding for the school referred to under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme. This approval was for the provision of 8 general classrooms, a special education teaching room, a science laboratory and preparation area, a DCG room, a music room, a textile room, 2 special education needs classrooms, a general purpose dining area, and a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department recognises the importance of the Minor Works Grant to primary schools. The funding provides good flexibility at local level to assist schools to manage and undertake works that support the operation of the school. A total of €280 million in Minor Works Grants and Enhanced Minor Works Grants has been allocated to schools between 2018 and 2022. For the school year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question. The purpose of the 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved for delivery to Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB). I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning process and planning permission has been granted. My Department now awaits submission of the Stage 2b report from the ETB. Once this report has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2024 (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: Over recent years, additional resources have been made available to our schools, including through the delivery of thousands of extra teaching and Special Needs Assistant posts, increased capitation in schools, enhanced supports for school leadership and improved staffing schedule and free school books in primary schools. My aim for Budget 2024 is to continue to deliver on the priorities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: It is open to schools to utilise their Minor Works Grant or to apply under the Summer Works Scheme for improvement works to external facilities. The Minor Works Grant is the funding mechanism for schools to deal with small-scale improvement or maintenance works. The Summer Works Scheme is the funding mechanism for dealing with more significant improvement works that are usually...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, the project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. This programme provides project management supports to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and helps to ease the administrative workload for individual schools in relation to the management and delivery of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published last year and is underpinned by an investment of €200m to support its implementation, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The first tranche of €50m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in late 2021. The previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 saw overall...