Results 5,881-5,900 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Projects (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The establishment of a national memorial for children who were victims of abuse in residential institutions is the final outstanding recommendation of the Final Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Ryan Report, which was published in 2009. For a number of years, the Department has ring-fenced capital funding of €500,000 for this purpose. However, a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I understand that the School Authority has been granted capital funding under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration & Modular Accommodation Programme for the provision of 2 x Special Educational Needs classrooms with 100m2 soft-play area and 2 x Special Education tuition rooms. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy reached substantial completion in August 2023. The project brief was for a new school building on the existing site to accommodate 1,200 pupils and accommodation, including 4 classrooms, for children with special educational needs. The current site works could only commence once the new school building was fully...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published last year and is underpinned by an investment of €200m to support its implementation, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The first tranche of €50m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in late 2021. The previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 saw overall...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, my Department approved funding for the school referred to under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme. This approval was for the provision of 8 general classrooms, a special education teaching room, a science laboratory and preparation area, a DCG room, a music room, a textile room, 2 special education needs classrooms, a general purpose dining area, and a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department recognises the importance of the Minor Works Grant to primary schools. The funding provides good flexibility at local level to assist schools to manage and undertake works that support the operation of the school. A total of €280 million in Minor Works Grants and Enhanced Minor Works Grants has been allocated to schools between 2018 and 2022. For the school year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question. The purpose of the 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved for delivery to Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB). I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning process and planning permission has been granted. My Department now awaits submission of the Stage 2b report from the ETB. Once this report has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2024 (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: Over recent years, additional resources have been made available to our schools, including through the delivery of thousands of extra teaching and Special Needs Assistant posts, increased capitation in schools, enhanced supports for school leadership and improved staffing schedule and free school books in primary schools. My aim for Budget 2024 is to continue to deliver on the priorities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: It is open to schools to utilise their Minor Works Grant or to apply under the Summer Works Scheme for improvement works to external facilities. The Minor Works Grant is the funding mechanism for schools to deal with small-scale improvement or maintenance works. The Summer Works Scheme is the funding mechanism for dealing with more significant improvement works that are usually...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, the project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. This programme provides project management supports to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and helps to ease the administrative workload for individual schools in relation to the management and delivery of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published last year and is underpinned by an investment of €200m to support its implementation, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The first tranche of €50m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in late 2021. The previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 saw overall...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/23 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reports (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I am committed to ensuring a quality, inclusive school systemwhere schools are a welcoming place for all children, including Traveller children. In my recent Statement of Strategy 2023–2025, I restate my vision for an education system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. The central goals of the strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 330, 331 and 332 together. The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Defective Building Materials (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 334, 335 and 338 together. Where pyrite is suspected in a school the school can submit an Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) application for funding to have testing carried out in the first instance and where required an application can then be made to remediate the matter. Problems with Pyrite has been identified in six schools that were built since 1994, one of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 and 337 together. Under the terms of the contract, the Contractor has a period of 12 months after the date of substantial completion to rectify any snags or defects that are identified (i.e. Defects Liability Period). If at the end of the 12 month period all snags or defects have not been rectified, then the Contract offers other remedies to have matters...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (3 Oct 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department and its officials do not presently use ChatGPT or any other form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate official text or to manage any Departmental functions. No such software is installed on my official's devices. My Department will continue to monitor developments in relation to AI, in particular with regard to potential applications that may be identified by other...