Results 2,641-2,660 of 7,283 for speaker:Josepha Madigan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (24 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.  This year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs.As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 26 — Education (Revised)
Vote 45 — Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (23 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: If the Minister wishes, I am happy to take that question. I advise the Deputy that the 200 school buildings will deliver 111 special educational needs rooms and 145 of those are going into construction. There will be a total of 247 new special educational needs rooms delivered between now and the halfway point of 2021. On the Deputy’s specific question relating to his constituency...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 26 — Education (Revised)
Vote 45 — Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (23 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: To reply to Deputy Ó Laoghaire and the Deputy, the roll-out of the progressing disability strategy is a policy of the HSE and the Department of Health. Obviously, as Minister with responsibility for special education, I am following this very closely due to the impact it has on special education and on the special schools the Deputy mentioned. The transfer of therapy supports out of...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 26 — Education (Revised)
Vote 45 — Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (23 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I do not know the exact number. Obviously, the budget provided for extra teachers. As to whether all of them have been employed, we can come back to the Deputy on that.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bullying in Schools (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this matter. I understand that the Senator is referring to one of a number of recommendations made by the INTO in a recent submission to the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in respect of the committee's examination of school bullying and its impact on mental health.I echo the Senator's sentiments...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bullying in Schools (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: It is important to say, as the Senator mentioned, that it is not just with regard to children being bullied. It is something we want to stamp out.The Senator mentioned black children, Traveller children, those in direct provision and other marginalised areas of society. She also mentioned children with special educational needs which is under my remit as well, and cyberbullying, which is a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank Senator Bacik for raising this matter. I hope to outline to her satisfaction the current position on the provision of a permanent school building for Harold's Cross Educate Together Secondary School. It is, as the Senator said, a co-educational second level school which will provide 1,000 post-primary school places and a four-classroom special educational needs unit to serve the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I should say that as with all school building projects, the exact timeframe for the delivery of permanent accommodation will be dependent on securing the grant of planning permission and until the planning permission is secured, it would be premature to estimate the timeframe for the tender and construction of the two schools. However, once planning permission is secured, the project for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I hope to be able to clarify the current position regarding Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty, which is an all-girls school under the patronage of Catholic Education, an Irish Schools Trust, CEIST. The enrolment at the school in September 2020 was 524 pupils and the school has a staffing of nearly 40 whole-time equivalent teachers. As...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Senator for his comments. I know what he is saying about the school being there since 1941. It is a badly needed development. I also note his remarks about the project manager who was in place in August 2019. I believe, however, I have given him some positives in my contribution today in terms of trying to move towards that architectural planning process which, as he said, is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Enrolments (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy for raising his concerns on the matter. Obviously, it is critical from the perspective of the Department and of the Minister, Deputy Foley, that we do not just provide school places for the existing school-going children but also forward plan into the future as the Deputy correctly stated in his contribution. That is why the mechanisms by which we do our forward planning...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Enrolments (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline for the House the position with regard to post-primary school development in east Cork. To plan for school provision and to analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographic information system, GIS. The GIS uses data from a range...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: The principal vehicle for the delivery of pre-school education is the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme which provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age. Since 2016 the inclusion of children with a special needs, including Autism, in the ECCE Scheme has been supported under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) for pre-school. First 5 is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 to 107, inclusive, together. A significantly expanded Summer Programme was provided in 2020 for children with the complex needs as a discrete response to Covid-19. The programme included a number of strands and options from which parents could choose, involving either in-school, or home-based supports by teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to help...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: My Department provides an extensive range of supports for pupils with Specific Speech and Language Disorder (SSLD). This includes provision for the establishment of special classes for pupils with SSLD in primary schools. A total of 63 SSLD special classes in mainstream primary schools have been provided for the 2020/2021 school year. This compares to 60 such special classes in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. The Department of Education will spend approximately €2 Billion or over 20% of its total educational budget in 2021 on making additional provision for children with special educational needs this year. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 121 together. Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. The Department of Education will spend approximately €2 Billion or over 20% of its total educational budget in 2021 on making additional provision for children with special educational needs this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Tuition Scheme (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention. Funding...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for determining the appropriate staffing levels in relation to the support of pupils with special educational needs in special schools, in accordance with the policies of my Department. Special school staffing allocations are reviewed and updated each year by the NCSE and special schools are staffed on the basis of each...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (10 Mar 2021)

Josepha Madigan: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) play a huge role in helping to ensure the inclusion of pupils with significant care needs in education and in school life. This was acknowledged in the Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme (SNAs) published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in 2018. The Review made a number of recommendations regarding SNAs and the...