Results 8,461-8,480 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (31 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. The NEPS service provides access for all schools to: - Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident - A Casework Service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (31 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy is currently in interim accommodation at the location referred to since September 2021. This building was refurbished to provide accommodation comprising at present 11 classrooms, Home Economics room, Art room, Science Lab and Prep Area, Technology Room, Construction Studies room and Prep Area, Admin, PE hall and SEN accommodation. To meet additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (31 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: As part of Budget 2023, I announced over €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from September 2023. This measure will eliminate the cost to these families for all school books at primary school, including workbooks. It delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to extend the free school book pilot, currently in 102 DEIS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: More than €317 million of additional Covid-19 Capitation grant funding was made available to recognised primary and post primary schools to provide for the implementation of infection prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID -19 for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 school years. A further €45 million has been provided to cater for ongoing enhanced...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (31 Jan 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: Teaching Qualifications (31 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: Schools must ensure that each person proposed for appointment to a teaching post which is funded by the Oireachtas is registered with the Teaching Council, has qualifications appropriate to the sector, and is suitable to the post for which he/she is to be employed.  All appointments must be subject to compliance with the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for bringing this matter to my attention. As the Deputy is aware, my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to recognised primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: As I have previously stated, it is not appropriate to use resources or materials produced or funded by the alcohol industry for education and awareness on alcohol in schools, or for teachers to attend, in their professional capacity, associated training which may be offered by organisations funded by the alcohol industry. This is reflected in Departmental Circular 13/2016, Promotion of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has informed the school patron that the accommodation brief for the building project in question is being prepared and that my Department will be in further contact with the patron when this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Healthcare Policy (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government (PFG) includes the commitment to ‘provide a range of free, adequate, safe, and suitable period products in all educational publicly-funded settings (including schools, colleges and HEIs), to ensure that no students are disadvantaged in their education by period poverty.’ The Government has also taken the decision to support the Private...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The School to which the deputy refers has been approved funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme 2022 for the reconfiguration of three mainstream classrooms to provide a two classroom SEN base. The delivery of this project has been devolved to the School Authority; an approval letter issued to the school in this respect on September 2nd 2022. A design team has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy, that a Framework Plan was developed by Fingal County Council in 2018 for the Ballymastone area of Donabate indicating a significant amount of residential land use zoning. This level of residential development would potentially produce a demand of new primary and post primary schools in the area. The proposed location of these potential new schools were identified...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department has reached agreement in principle for the acquisition of a 3.31 acre site in Donabate to permanently accommodate Gaelscoil na Mara. The acquisition of this site is conditional on the development of a large residential development that was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála in November 2022. As the Deputy is aware, unfortunately judicial review proceedings have...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Question Heading for question(s) 253 (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has informed the school patron that the accommodation brief for the building project in question is being prepared and that my Department will be in further contact with the patron when this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In accordance with the Department 's recruitment and appointment Circular 0031/2011 (post primary) which is available on my Department’s website...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education is engaging with education stakeholders about the difficulty being experienced by schools in accessing substitutes for teacher absences at this time. It is recognised that there are continuing pressures in this area. As part of a broad range of measures being progressed to address immediate issues, the Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) support service has deferred...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jan 2023)

Norma Foley: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers to other schools where vacancies exist. Ensuring efficiency in the annual redeployment processes is significant in terms of managing the overall teacher numbers.At Post-Primary level, following discussions between the relevant stakeholders a voluntary redeployment scheme has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (26 Jan 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 Refurbishment (26 Jan 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. I can confirm to the Deputy that the Minor Works Grant for primary schools for the current school year was paid in December 2021 - in order to give schools a...