Results 741-760 of 19,404 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Jan 2025)

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 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Jan 2025)

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 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: n order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. The Department uses a Geographic Information System (GIS), which facilitates the analysis of data from a range of sources, including CSO Census data, Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The 2020 Programme for Government committed to establishing four citizens' assemblies on the topics of biodiversity loss, the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin, matters relating to drugs use and the future of education. Three of these Citizens’ Assemblies were held during the term of the last government. At this point in time,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: For historical reasons, most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local Bishop as patron. It is recognised, including by the Catholic patrons, that more diverse provision is required to cater for our changing society. The Department of Education’s ‘Schools Recon?guration for diversity process’ supports the transfer of schools from denominational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (22 Jan 2025)

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 and the principal is responsible for the day-to-day management of a school. The Board has overall responsibility for school policies including the school’s policy in relation to school trips or outings. The objective of an educational tour should be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department is providing a payroll service for school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023. The provision of a payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and also includes revised terms and conditions for secretaries. The Agreement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

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 Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is not 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications have developed a jointly funded school sector decarbonisation pathfinder programme. It is administered by the Planning and Building Unit in my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in partnership with devolved delivery support from Limerick and Clare Education Training Board, and Longford and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: In the 18th October last, the Department announced plans to establish five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year to cater for the increasing number of students with special educational needs. The five new special schools will be established in counties Cork, Dublin (2), Monaghan and Tipperary. This followed analysis by the National Council for Special Education and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department is working closely with Educate Together and Lucan East ETNS in relation to the school’s relocation to the nearby new school building located at Thomas Omer Way, Kishoge, Lucan. The location of five new special schools to be established for the 2025/26 school year was announced by the Minister in December. The location of one of these special schools is in the Lucan...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Since September 2023, the department is providing a payroll service for previously grant funded Secretaries. This provision is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and also includes revised terms and conditions for secretaries. The Agreement however did not grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department of Education’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, and 29/2007 and 29/2010 for Post-Primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). These circulars provide for the award of incremental...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The eligibility criteria for appointment to an Assistant Principal post is set out in Chapter 3 of Circular 0044/2019 for the primary sector and Circular 0003/2018 for the post primary sector. 4.1 of Chapter 3 of Circular 0044/2019 advises that "All appropriately qualified permanent and fixed term teachers serving in a recognised primary school are eligible to apply for Assistant Principal...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school to which the deputy refers was granted approval for reconfiguration works to existing accommodation to provide a Special Education Needs classroom and the refurbishment of current Special Education ancillary accommodation under the Department's?SEN Reconfiguration?programme. This programme?involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter my Departments pipeline of school building projects under the Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme for 2 classroom SEN base. The project was devolved for delivery to the school authority. I can confirm that my Department has received a request for review of additional fees. As this project is on a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the departments pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide 4 SET/Pastoral Rooms, 1 Multi-Media room, 1 Music Room, 1 Textiles Room, 1 Art Room, Project store, 3 SEN Class Base, and reconfiguration works to existing Multimedia Room to revert to 1 Mainstream Classroom. The project has been devolved for delivery to the Kerry...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The SWS operates on a multi-annual basis for a number of categories and was last opened for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. NEPS provides access for all schools to:Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident.A casework service for individual students where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS psychologist or ...