Results 6,441-6,460 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers to was approved funding under the Additional Accommodation Scheme (ASA) in order to provide three Special Education Teaching rooms. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority who appointed a Design Team to manage the project. A Tender Report was received by my Department in December 2022 and upon review the Department agreed with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Under the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 overall investment of €210m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in annual grant funding. This funding was to support schools to invest in appropriate digital infrastructure to embed the use of digital technology in teaching, learning and assessment. The new Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Recycling Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that the Furniture & Equipment Scheme is a devolved scheme and as such the responsibility for purchasing and disposing of furniture would lie with the relevant school authority in the first instance. My Department keeps the performance of schemes such as the Furniture & Equipment Scheme, including the need for updated policies and circulars,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Board of Management of a school is the employer of teachers and other staff of the school as set out in Section 24 of the Education Act, 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act, 2012). The Department of Education is not the employer of teachers. The Department acts as Paymaster on behalf of a school’s Boards of Management who employ teachers and pays teachers upon...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: In respect of the pilot area to which the Deputy refers, the facilitator prepared a preliminary report with a recommendation, based on engagement with stakeholders, including school staff and parents on whether there is sufficient demand for transfer of patronage and change of ethos or whether the school community wishes to remain under the patronage of the Catholic Church, and submitted this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (27 Jun 2023)

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 by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Under the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 to 2020 overall investment of €210m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in annual grant funding. This funding was to support schools to invest in appropriate digital infrastructure to embed the use of digital technology in teaching, learning and assessment. The new Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Primary Staffing Appeals Board was set up in 2002 as an independent mechanism to consider staffing appeals made by school authorities in regard to teaching staff allocations. The Appeals Board is a technical committee that adjudicates on appeals using criteria published in the annual Staffing Arrangements for Primary Schools (Section 4 of Circular 0006/2023). The Board operates...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (27 Jun 2023)

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 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education originally approved the construction of a standalone extension of just over 4,000m2 in area which included a two classroom Special Education needs base. Some works to the existing building were also included in this approval. Responsibility for delivering this major project for the school in question was devolved to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education &...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school on behalf of the Patron. The principal is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school as set out in sections 22 and 23 of the Education Act. 1998. The body which has statutory responsibility for ensuring that health and safety requirements are met by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Setanta Special School and Ballyowen Meadows School are part of a large-scale capital project, to be co-located on a campus at the existing site in Stillorgan. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that after completing the tendering process, the successful Tenderer commenced construction on site in May 2023. The works will take an estimated completion timeframe of 18 months.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Emergency Works application to which the Deputy refers has been received by my Department and is under active consideration. Officials in my Department's Professional and Technical team are currently examining the application from a technical perspective and once a recommendation has been made by the Professional and Technical team an update will issue to the school. My Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department has recently received an application for additional accommodation under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme from the school referred to by the Deputy. This application is under consideration at present and my Department will convey a decision directly to the school authority when this process has been completed. My Department has no record of receiving an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Educational Institutions (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: In December 2022, my Department published Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying following an extensive consultation process. Cineáltas is founded on a rights-based approach, rooted in four key principles prevention, support, oversight and community and provides a clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying in our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Budgets (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Under Project Ireland 2040, the Department of Education is investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, 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. My Department has a proven track record of delivery, with over 180 projects completed last...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Donegal Education and Training Board (DETB). The Department is awaiting the Tender Supplementary Report from Donegal ETB. Once this report has been reviewed and all conditions are fully satisfied, the Department will approve the ETB to issue the letter of Acceptance to the contractor. It is anticipated that the project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the school referred to by the Deputy issued to the preferred tenderer on the 19th May 2022 commencing the school building contract. The school is due for completion in Quarter 3, 2023. My Department will continue to keep the school and patron body updated on progress.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools. In Budget 2023, I ensured major investment in our schools and I have succeeded in bringing the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools for the 2023/24 school year which is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that the large scale capital project at the school they refer too, commenced on site in July 2022, works are progressing well with an expected completion date of Quarter 1 2024.