Results 201-220 of 449 for cork speaker:Norma Foley

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: ...for its valuable and wide-ranging report in respect of the senior cycle which, indeed, aligns with the work that has commenced in the Department. I want to acknowledge the excellent work of the Cork Life Centre and the dedication of the director and his team in providing a vital pathway for young people who have encountered difficulties completing mainstream education. I visited the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The review of the out-of-school education provision was a review of all of the centres and was not unique to the Cork Life Centre. I have met representatives from the Cork Life Centre and I have also taken the opportunity to meet the parents and guardians, the staff and the students. I acknowledge the excellent ongoing work that takes place at the centre. There are other centres as well....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: .... This means that they are not within the general and traditional experience of schooling. I know that the issue raised by the Deputy is one that is particularly important and pertinent to the Cork Life Centre and, indeed, many other centres. It is for this reason that we are undertaking a full review. All of the issues, including terms and conditions, will be looked at as part of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I will be clear on the commitment of the Department to the Cork Life Centre. There is a very clear and obvious commitment by the Department. Again, there is significant funding of €177,500 going from the Department directly to Cork Life Centre and 6,000 co-operation hours between ourselves and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge the strong interest of the committee and the Chairman in the Cork Life Centre. I want to say that the entire review of out-of-school educational provision is to ensure that places such as the Cork Life Centre and other centres have a sustainable future. The major concern of Cork Life Centre relates to its sustainable future. I acknowledge that the Department has not been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education provision for Cork Life Centre did not change this year. We provided 6,000 co-operation hours, as we did previously, and €177,500 in funding directly to the centre. From our point of view, we have put in the same level of resources.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I am not aware of that. I am aware of what we, as a Department, have put into the Cork Life Centre which, in respect of the co-operation hours, would be equivalent to approximately 8.5 teaching posts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I want to be very clear. The supports provided to the Cork Life Centre have not changed. In fact, they have increased considerably since I became Minister. A figure of €177,500 was provided directly, and 6,000 co-operation hours were provided between the Department and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science which, again,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: ...provision. It is for that reason the review has been undertaken and that we now have an implementation group. I want to ensure that these centres are sustainable. The review is not just about Cork Life Centre; it is about all the centres. There must be equality in terms of what we implement. The implementation group is charged with ensuring the sustainability of all these centres going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: ...a significant implementation group, which has already begun its work. We will move apace. I absolutely appreciate the urgency that is attached to this. We have been consistent in our support to Cork Life Centre. We have increased our support to the centre over the past two years, notwithstanding the difficulty it continues to have. It is my absolute ambition that we will conclude this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: To reiterate, everyone is interested in securing Cork Life Centre and making it sustainable. I absolutely accept that and understand its importance. We have done considerable work with the review and we are doing even more work with the implementation group. My sole objective is to ensure that centres such as the Cork Life Centre and others are sustainable into the future. I know the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: .... As he said, he has engaged with me previously in a Topical Issues matter, oral questions, etc. There is a huge commitment from this committee. It is my objective to ensure that centres like Cork Life Centre are sustainable and that there is a very clear pathway forward for them. I understand, from my own experience, that the formal education setting satisfies the vast majority of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The review had extensive consultation. Notwithstanding that, I appreciate that Cork Life Centre had specifically asked for certain clarifications. That was done and published. There has been considerable consultation. The next step is the implementation. There will be opportunities as we go forward. Irrespective of the formula that will be employed, there is a shared agenda to make this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: With regard to the Cork Life Centre, the key consideration in this review, which relates not only to that centre but to all such centres, is securing their sustainability. That will very much be the focus. The review will cover many of the issues Deputies Ó Laoghaire and O'Sullivan and many others have raised with me at different times. I acknowledge the considerable progress being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Issues: Engagement with the Minister for Education (12 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: The Chairman is correct and I acknowledge his ongoing interest and that of the wider committee in Cork Life Centre. The centre asked for a number of clarifications regarding the report and I indicated we would look at all of them. They were taken on board and subsequently published and made available.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, in June of this year, I visited the Cork Life Centre and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet some of the young people who attend the centre, together with their parents and guardians, as well as members of staff and the management of the centre. During the meeting, the centre raised the issues of security of employment for its staff and their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: To be clear, the staff employed in the Cork Life Centre, under the co-operation hours arrangement with Cork ETB, are employed under terms and conditions, including the pay scale, in line with arrangements that apply to settings outside the recognised school system. However, as I have made very clear, I have met with the centre and I am very conscious of the work it does. The issues the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank both Deputies. I acknowledge their commitment and interest. I do not for a moment underestimate the value and importance of the work that takes place in Cork Life Centre and in the other centres that make up this sector. I fully understand that no one setting suits the needs of students and we must provide a variety of settings for them. It is the desire of the Cork Life Centre,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: An Garda Síochána (11 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: ...the end of August this year. The Government has committed to building a new Garda station in Clonmel as part of the justice sector private-public partnership. This is being done alongside a proposed new station in Macroom, County Cork, and a family law complex at Hammond Lane, Dublin 7. Planning permission was granted for the new station in 2021. The Department continues to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (11 Oct 2022)

Norma Foley: ...using a random selection process. Bus Éireann have provided the information below in relation to the information requested by the Deputy. School Year No. of mainstream tickets issued in Cork Period % Increased in tickets issued versus 2021/22 School Year 2022/23 16,668 (this figure is subject to change as applications...