Results 7,101-7,120 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, there are a number of published reports highlighting the ongoing needs of survivors and the lifelong difficulties they encounter. It is also very important that the views of survivors of institutional abuse are heard in this regard. My Department commenced a structured process of consultation with survivors and the initial phase of this process resulted in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: I recently announced details of Ireland’s first national primary school book scheme, which will provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks, in recognised primary schools and special schools. More than 558,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools, will benefit from this measure. The total investment, of over €50...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: Following engagement with the relevant stakeholders, issue of preliminary report, which was circulated to the Raheny school community, feedback provided and views shared, the facilitator issued their final report to the school patron.  The report concludes that the Raheny schools are not amenable to, or potential candidates for, transfer of patronage, and that the three Raheny schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are not required to provide my Department with a breakdown of legal costs incurred by individual case or issue. However, information in relation to overall legal costs is available in the ETBs’ Annual Financial Statements. According to the Annual Financial Statements of the ETB concerned, the amounts spent on legal fees in respect of legal...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department provides funding to all recognised 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 including heating, lighting etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. As part of the Cost of Living measures introduced in the Budget,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 May 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 May 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Professional Support (Guidance Counselling Supervision) Programme provides all guidance counsellors employed in Department of Education funded post primary schools with five two-hour sessions of counselling supervision support in each academic year by a professionally qualified Supervisor. This provides a forum for Guidance Counsellors to meet their peers and discuss the issues they are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 May 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Special Education Teaching allocation, as outlined in Circular 0020/2022, provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile and also encompasses the Language Support (EAL) allocation that schools were allocated in previous years. All schools are advised in the first instance to review...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Professional Support (Guidance Counselling Supervision) Programme provides all guidance counsellors employed in Department of Education funded post primary schools with five two-hour sessions of counselling supervision support in each academic year by a professionally qualified Supervisor. This provides a forum for Guidance Counsellors to meet their peers and discuss the issues they are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: There has been no delay in the making of payments to contractors in respect of contractual obligations for projects that are at construction. These payments continued as normal and within prompt payment guidelines. As you are aware an agreement was secured with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to guarantee and support the rollout and continuation of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural Planning Stage 4 - Construction. The request for an additional change under the contract is currently under review by my Department's Professional & Technical section, upon completion of this review my Department will be in further contact with the school and design team.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Large Scale Capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. A tender report is currently under review by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Pensions (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: Officials in my Department are reviewing the records of the person concerned with a view to providing the relevant data to assist her in her application for a state contributory pension, which is payable by Department of Social Protection. It is expected a response will shortly issue directly to the person concerned.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: On 2 September 2022, I announced that adjustments would be made to the assessment arrangements for students due to sit State examinations in 2023, to take account of the disruption to their learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided clarity, certainty and reassurance to students, their parents/guardians, teachers and schools at the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The changes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: Staffing arrangements for the 2023/24 school year are available in Circular 0006/2023. 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 arrangements include a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Information and Communications Technology (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The current position is that my Department and officials do not presently use ChatGPT or any other form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate official text. No meetings or risk assessments have yet been held regarding its use and no such software is installed on my official's devices.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 May 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers was granted funding under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme to provide a two classroom Special Education Needs base & 3 Special Education Teaching rooms. This project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority and is currently at the Design stage of the architectural planning process. Upon receipt of the stage 1/2a...