Results 3,861-3,880 of 19,544 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, on 27 June 2023 Government approved proposals for the provision of a package of ongoing supports to survivors. This package of supports is comprised of a number of elements, including health, education, and advocacy supports. The delivery of both the health and education supports will require the passage of legislation, the General Scheme of which was...

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

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers to was approved for a project under my Department's Additional School Accommodation scheme for the provision of a Special Education Needs class. I am pleased to confirm that my Department has been informed that this project was practically completed in Q1 2023. In Q1 2024, the school authority submitted a final drawdown request for the remainder of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my department has received an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school to which the Deputy refers The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special...

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

Norma Foley: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The appeal submitted...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bus Éireann (20 Mar 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: Gaeltacht Policy (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: My department launched the Policy on Gaeltacht Education as a strategic response to address the linguistic challenges facing Gaeltacht language-planning areas. Significant progress has been made across all aspects of the Policy since the commencement of its implementation. The Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme was launched in April 2017. 103 primary schools and 29 post-primary schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaeltacht Policy (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: The Gaeltacht Education Policy Advisory Committee was established in March 2017 to support the phased implementation of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. The committee, which is chaired by an official from my Department, comprises representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups. Details of the membership along with discussion papers, the committee’s terms of reference, agendas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, general up-keep etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to has been approved a project by my Department to provide a mainstream classroom under the Additional Schools Accommodation Scheme. The project has been devolved to the school authority for delivery and a design team have been appointed. The school submitted a architectural design (stage 1) report which is currently under review by my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State. The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: As you are aware, I launched Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying in December 2022. Cineáltas is the Department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying behavior in schools. Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (20 Mar 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: Departmental Expenditure (20 Mar 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 with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 31 new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: There are currently 42 professional and technical staff employed in the Planning and Building Unit of my Department. The grades working in this unit consist of Senior Quantity Surveyors, Senior Building Service Engineers, Senior Civil and Structural Engineers, Senior Architects, Architects, Architectural Assistants and Senior Technical Officers who are led by Technical Managers. In 2023, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 527 and 528 together. As previously advised in PQ number 5262/24 and also PQ number 6258/24, the criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for Post-Primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is not in receipt of a current application from the school in question, for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme. The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved for a project under my Department's Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. While the project was devolved to the school authority for delivery, this programme draws on the Department's procurement frameworks which supports accelerated delivery of the accommodation and maximises assistance to the school authority for the delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (20 Mar 2024)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers is devolved for delivery to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). My Department approved a submission from the school authority to increase the original brief in the context of a significant increase in projected new enrolments in the area. This allowed for a project to cater for a 1,000 pupil school plus 6 special education needs...