Results 821-840 of 19,404 for speaker:Norma Foley

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

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, funding is already provided for the development of playgrounds in existing schools by my Department under the guise of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS). The purpose of the 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...

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

Norma Foley: My Department are working closely with Educate Together and Lucan East ETNS in relation to the school’s relocation to a new school located at Thomas Omer Way, Kishoge, Lucan. The design for the school site factors in a controlled pedestrian crossing, footpaths, pedestrian walkways, and cycle tracks to support and facilitate active travel arrangements. In relation to vehicular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (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 daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. his figure includes over...

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

Norma Foley: Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.7 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,150 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State...

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

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that an application was received in April 2021 from the school in question for three Special Classes under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme. The purpose of the Department’s Additional School Accommodation (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: Special Educational Needs (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an Additional Schools' Accommodation (ASA) application from the school in question. The main focus of the Department’s capital funding over the last decade and for the coming period is on the provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics and children with special education needs. The...

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

Norma Foley: My department engaged an independent roofing consultant to carry out a detailed report on the school referred to by the deputy. This report has been received and is being reviewed. My department will be in contact with the school and its patron body as soon as possible following completion of the review.

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

Norma Foley: I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department is aware of the mentioned issues at this school. I can confirm that officials from my Department are currently in the process of attempting to arrange a meeting between the relevant stakeholders to try to progress this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

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

Norma Foley: Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.7 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,150 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (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 daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

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

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The Summer Works Scheme plays an important role in the maintenance and upgrade of the condition of...

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

Norma Foley: The Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two-year, full-time Level 9 postgraduate professional teacher education programme designed to qualify graduates as primary and post-primary teachers. Changes to the duration and content of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes were made in response to recommendations in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among...

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

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers was granted approval for the provision of the reconfiguration of existing accommodation to create one Special Education needs Classroom under the Department's SEN Reconfiguration programme in early August 2024. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable accommodation to be provided as quickly as...

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

Norma Foley: My Department has reviewed its records and has provided the information requested for the school referred to by the Deputy in tabular form on the attached report. My Department has no records of the associated ancillary and maintenance costs. The two main relevant grants for post primary schools paid by the Department in this regard are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running...

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

Norma Foley: The large scale capital project for the provision of a new 600 pupil school and ancillary accommodation is at Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. A new grant of planning was received in December 2023, with a number of conditions attached. The design team are examining the implications of these conditions and reviewing technical design information in relation...

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

Norma Foley: My Department and its officials do not presently use AI to generate official text. My Department recognises the potential offered by AI and is aware of the Interim Guidelines for Use of AI published. My Department will continue to assess the suitability of AI on a solution by solution basis. The information in respect of state bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is...

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

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, under the education section of the new Programme for Government (PFG), Government has committed to "Carry out an independent assessment on the feasibility of removing the exclusion of drivers aged over 70 from the School Transport Scheme". I will be engaging with the Minister for Education and with Bus Éireann on this PfG commitment.

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

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive (HSE). This includes the establishment of special class and special school...

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

Norma Foley: While my Department takes the issue of road safety for all schools users very seriously, the issue of gritting roads outside of school property does not fall under the remit of my Department. The area of road safety and administration is a matter for the relevant local authority or the Road Safety Authority.