Results 16,301-16,320 of 20,909 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together. The school referred to by the Deputy is part of a joint major building project for St Thomas JNS & Scoil Áine SNS and will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme. The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme from the school in question. The project involves the reconfiguration of rooms in a vacant 1950s building to create 2x Special Education Needs Classrooms. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: In March 2023 I introduced a groundbreaking new free Primary Schoolbook Scheme, that has provided funding directly to recognised primary and special schools to provide at a minimum, free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks to pupils. More than 563,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 recognised primary schools, including over 130 special schools, have benefited from this new measure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €4.5 billion to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day. The Minor Works Grant is one important element of this record level of capital investment in school infrastructure.? ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: I recently announced €50 million in grant funding for Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This ICT grant has now issued to all recognised primary, special schools and post-primary schools. This funding is being provided to schools to help them continue to embed the use of digital technologies in their teaching, learning and assessment and represents the second tranche...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Apr 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 traveling 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware provisional approval was issued to the school in question for 1xEarly intervention classroom, 1x Special education classroom and 1x Mainstream classroom in May 2022. This project is currently at stage 1 with the Delivery section in the Department. The school also received approval for 1 Modular Special Education needs classroom which is currently in place in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Apr 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 Staff (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: Due to improvements brought about in recent budgets, the teacher allocation ratio is at an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. A three point reduction in the retention schedule, which I introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. The staffing of a school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: Since 2020, my Department has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 800 school building projects. Construction is currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 31 new school buildings. Projects at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn. I recently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Apr 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...

Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Second Stage (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Today I bring the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill before the House. I am deeply conscious in introducing the Bill of the enormous trauma that has been endured by all survivors of abuse, and I know that nothing we do now can ever truly undo the hurt which has been caused. Nearly 25 years ago, on 11 May...

Visit of Malaysian Delegation (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: There you go now.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: Since 2020, my Department has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 800 school building projects. Construction is currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 31 new school buildings. Projects at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn. I recently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: The purpose of the Remote Area Boarding Grant scheme is to give students who are disadvantaged because of their remoteness from schools an opportunity to attend school on the same basis as students not so disadvantaged. The terms of this scheme are set out in Circular 16/2016 which is published on my Department’s website at: gov.ie -...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: 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 the Department. It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not always be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in our schools throughout the country. Around 800 school building projects have been completed and 300 other projects are under construction. School building projects under construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. This is a record level of investment and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Norma Foley: The large scale capital project at the school is for the provision of a new 600 pupil school and ancillary accommodation. The project is at Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The original grant of planning expired in December 2022, but due to changes to the Planning Acts in September 2021, it was no longer possible to apply for an extension to the planning...