Results 14,501-14,520 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: There are almost 3,000 special classes in the system now, which is quite phenomenal given where we were at three years ago. There are 68 special classes in Clare. Seven are new classes for the 2023-24 school year, five in primary and two in post-primary. It is not always true that six are needed to form the class but if there is capacity in the school next door the general suggestion is to...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I take the point. On the positive-----

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: -----all new schools, particularly post-primary, will automatically have special classes. That is all the new builds and new schools going forward. We are trying to fill where we did not have capacity. It was never right that we had not adequate provision for special education. The best education is one that meets the needs of a child. I that is in a special school, it is a special...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: There are more than 17,700 Ukrainian students and others in the education system at the moment. It has been an enormous feat by the schools on the ground to accommodate these students so seamlessly. It is also interesting to note that we have the highest enrolment in our schools in Europe, which is impressive. We now have more than 136 Ukrainian teachers in our system, who are registered...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I will start with the second question. Some €180 million is spent on the DEIS scheme every year. We had the single largest expansion of the DEIS scheme last year at a cost of €32 million. One in four of our students benefits from DEIS supports, so it is significant. As regards going forward, I hear what the Deputy is saying. He is particularly invested in access to DEIS....

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. She is quite correct that there is a very ambitious programme for Dublin Mid-West in terms of a variety of projects. The Deputy has articulated them very well. Right across the country there are more than 300 projects currently at construction. Some 40 of those are actually new builds and, all things being equal, we have a budget of €1.2 billion for the capital...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I will for sure.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Absolutely. I guarantee that we will come back with a full update to the committee secretariat. Significant work has been done in terms of the ISL interpreters, particularly. I believe that Trinity College Dublin has specific courses. Does the Chair want Ms Mannion to come in on that?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I will come back to the committee secretariat on that.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: To be fair, I know the Chair is hugely invested in this. I do not think there is a Deputy in the House who is not invested in this. I am really committed to getting this published as quickly as we possibly can. We have to engage with the Cabinet subcommittee and ultimately with the Cabinet and with party leaders. We are engaging with them so that a slot will be available to us at an...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I fundamentally believe in the importance of this project. As regards the school and what was made available to it, our National Educational Psychological Service teams were in the school on Thursday, the day of the incident. They arrived at the school immediately after the incident and they have been there since. They engaged with the school over the weekend. They will be in the school...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Brilliant.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: In the first instance, an allocation of €20 million was made available to schools in the previous budget to ensure there was an opportunity for them to augment the availability of books or other resources in terms of promoting engagement with reading, appreciation of the written word and experience of the diversity of the written word, whether poetry, drama or otherwise. I believe it...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: That is it. I could not think of the phrase. Again, that is working very well in schools. It ensures that young people have an opportunity to hold a book in the same way that they would have an opportunity to have it on a digital device. We are hugely committed to that. A significant investment of €20 million has already been made to support schools and we will certainly see what...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I repeat that I give an absolute commitment that we will come back with an update specifically in regard to this school. I will be very happy to visit at a time that is appropriate to the school. It is always a huge compliment to a school when somebody who was educated in the school goes back to teach there.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I meet that a lot when I visit schools. It is a very happy and positive story, and an enormous endorsement of the school. I hear what Deputy Clarke is saying about the importance of ISL. We are very conscious of that and we are intent on driving that on as much as we possibly can. I want to reference the DCU bachelor in education for graduates of deaf and hearing schools, which is...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: It is a policy matter for Bus Éireann. The issue has been raised with Bus Éireann but that body is clear this is based on advice received from the Road Safety Authority. Bus Éireann has said it keeps the policy under review but it is its policy at the end of the day.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Prompt Payment Act 1997, and later the SI 580 2012 European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012, my Department is required to pay Prompt Payment Interest on valid invoices that are not processed within 30 days. The Department applies a daily interest rate (which is the ECB rate of plus the margin of 8%), followed by a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Schools Building Projects (29 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €3.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 690 school building projects, and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects. School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. We also have 200...