Results 15,381-15,400 of 20,909 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Renewable Energy Generation (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Minister Norma Foley and Minister of State Ossian Smyth launched the first phase of the Schools PV Programme in November 2023. The programme will provide eligible schools with 6 kilowatts of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels and includes connection to the grid and a monitoring system and display screen. The Schools PV Programme is a devolved programme based...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Renewable Energy Generation (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Minister Norma Foley and Minister of State Ossian Smyth launched the first phase of the Schools PV Programme in November 2023. The programme will provide eligible schools with 6 kilowatts of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels and includes connection to the grid and a monitoring system and display screen. The Schools PV Programme is a devolved programme based...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together. Under the Constitution, the provisions of article 44 recognise the rights of children to attend school without attending religious instruction at that school. Furthermore the provisions of Section 30(2) (e) of the Education Act 1998 provide that a school shall not require a student to attend instruction in any subject which is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: In accordance with the Education Act 1998, schools are managed by Boards of Management on behalf of the relevant school patrons. Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools have admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. All schools must publish...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers includes an extension to the existing school buildings. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority and it has appointed a design team to progress the project. The tender report has been received by my Department and is currently under review from both a technical and cost perspective. The review is nearing completion and my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise that my Department has no current record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the school in question. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (15 Feb 2024)

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 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (15 Feb 2024)

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 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: The purpose of my Department's Additional School Accommodation (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 school’s existing accommodation or by available accommodation at other schools in the area. I can confirm to the Deputy that my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Investment and expenditure on Sports Gyms is an element of the overall School Building Programme. The provision of GP rooms and PE Halls/Sports Gyms, at primary and post primary level respectively, and outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. Almost 95% of the post primary schools that made 2020 Annual Schools Returns have indicated to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Costs (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: The Deputy's Question does not relate to a school but to a boarding facility attached to a school. The management of the boarding facility does not fall under the responsibility of my Department. Therefore, my Department does not have the power to instruct it to follow a particular course of direction with regard to individual parents.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Information on the number of students from Ukraine enrolled in Irish schools is made available in a monthly press release from my Department, which includes the figures at both primary and post-primary level. As of 1st February 2024, 18,155 Ukrainian pupils are enrolled in Irish schools. Out of that figure, 11,288 of these pupils had enrolled in primary schools, while 6,867 pupils had...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: The School to which the deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) in January 2023. This application was made under Category 10 which pertains to external environment works and covered a number of measures including some security measures. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works and some of the works being sought under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers is to provide three general classroom and a two Classroom Special Education Needs base under the Department’s Additional School Accommodation scheme. The project was devolved for delivery to the school authority and it has appointed a design team to progress the project. The project is currently at stage 1 (design) of the architectural process. At...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (15 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. Budget 2024 contained a range of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system.A professional masters’ of education incentive scheme will be...

Death of Michael O'Regan: Expressions of Sympathy (20 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: I also would like to be associated with the words of sympathy to the late Michael O'Regan's family and, indeed, to his colleagues in The Irish Times, his family in Radio Kerry and the constituency of Kerry. Michael was much revered, much respected and, indeed, I would say, much loved, particularly in Kerry but, I would feel, far beyond. He was the consummate journalist. He was well...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (20 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Work is progressing in my Department on the development of the new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. The steering committee which includes representatives drawn from relevant Government Departments and Agencies, is continuing to oversee the development of the policy. A public consultation process has been conducted to gather the views of stakeholders, including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (20 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that I am considering the report of the Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community which was published on 7thFebruary. In my own evidence to the Committee, I very much addressed the daily challenges faced by children with special educational needs and the importance of recognising these genuine challenges, and, where it is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (20 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: Staff working in the NTS Payroll section of my Department recently contacted all school secretaries who opted into the new arrangements but who did not come on to my Department’s payroll because of retirement prior to the "go-live" date of 01/09/2023. Contact was also made with the schools in which these secretaries were last employed. The reason for these contacts was to gather...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (20 Feb 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that the Department is in receipt of an application, under the Additional School Accommodation scheme, from the above named school. The purpose of the Additional School Accommodation 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...