Results 8,981-9,000 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: Setanta Special School and Ballyowen Meadows Special School are part of a large-scale capital project, to be co-located on campus at the existing site in Stillorgan. I want to reassure the Deputy that these projects are key priorities for the Department and will be progressed ASAP. Setanta Special School, in Stillorgan, is a co-educational day school which caters for post primary children...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that requirements for additional school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers was granted funding under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2015 to provide 1 Classroom Special Needs Unit & 2 80m2 Mainstream Classrooms with en-suite toilets & WC for assisted users. This project was approved to construction in December 2021 and has been devolved to the School Authority for delivery. The Department has been in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 95, 98, 100, 121 and 141 together. The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I announced in the budget that €5 million will be invested in piloting a programme of counselling supports for primary school students. This will serve to support the very positive work which already takes place in the area of wellbeing in our schools. The details of the programme are currently being finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Schemes (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The ex gratia scheme was originally established in 2015 and was put in place to provide those, who had instituted legal proceedings against the State in respect of day school sexual abuse and subsequently discontinued those proceedings following rulings in the domestic courts, with an opportunity to apply for an ex gratia payment. The Scheme was paused in 2019 following a report from the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department implemented the outcome of the review of allowances and premium payments (September 2012) by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The outcome of which was that many allowances were no longer payable to many new public service entrants including “new entrant” teachers. Circular 0008 of 2013 outlines the effect of this review on teachers. In common with a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department's immediate priority is the provision of critically required school places, including for students with special educational needs. Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. This investment will build on the good progress...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I am aware that some schools are currently experiencing difficulties in recruiting teachers. Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) represent an additional source of supply for substitute and full-time posts in 2022/23 with over 3,600 primary and post-primary NQTs registered with the Teaching Council this year. My Department runs a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of teachers....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The cost of the scheme in 2021 was €289m. In July 2022, Government...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The permanent building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under the Department's Design and Build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction. The Grant of Planning decision was received in April 2022. It is intended that the project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted and equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and has benefits for students. In March...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: As part of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, my Department has committed to creating opportunities for expanding Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht in the context of the announcements since April 2018 on the establishment of 47 new schools from 2019, which affords particular consideration to the establishment of Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcholáistí, and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I am aware that some schools are currently experiencing challenges in recruiting teachers and I am conscious of the impact this potentially has on our schools. Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) represent an additional source of supply for substitute and full-time posts in 2022/23 with over 3,600 primary and post-primary NQTs registered with the Teaching Council this year. The Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Costs (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management is responsible for the day to day running of a school. Apart from those recognised fee-charging second level schools, recognised primary and post primary schools are precluded from charging school fees. Section 64 of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, which was commenced in October 2018, explicitly...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: On 1 January 2021, responsibility for education welfare functions, including the administration of the home school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme, SCP, transferred from the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to my Department. The SCP forms part of the Tusla education support service, TESS. While the arrangements between Tusla and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, senior academics have raised questions regarding the use of GDP as the most appropriate measure of the size of the Irish economy. My department published a paper on this matter in October of this year to assist users of these statistics to understand this issue (see : gov.ie - OECD Briefing Notes (www.gov.ie)). The paper outlines how the very large increase of 34%...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I can advise the deputy that ‘Languages Connect – Irelands Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education’ aims to increase and diversify the range of foreign languages taught and learned across the education system: Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) is fully funded by my Department (circa €5m in 2022) and is charged with implementation of a wide range of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: It is not appropriate that resources or materials produced or funded by the drinks industry, for education and awareness on alcohol, are in use in our schools. My Department is giving active consideration to how best to ensure that this position is reflected across our schools, including liaison with colleagues in the Department of Health and the HSE, and this process remains ongoing.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 108, 136 and 142 together. The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The cost of the...