Results 9,361-9,380 of 19,968 for speaker:Norma Foley

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

Norma Foley: I am aware of the statement to which the Deputy refer which details challenges some primary schools are facing in recruiting teachers. The Department of Education runs a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of teachers at primary level and my Department engages closely with the school management bodies and other education stakeholders to inform this work. It is...

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

Norma Foley: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan. The brief for this project is a New Extension and Refurbishment of the existing school buildings to provide accommodation for a Long Term Projected Enrolment of 600 students. The agreed preferred design...

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

Norma Foley: My Department’s Wellbeing Policy and Framework for practice has given recognition to the importance of promoting wellbeing in education. The approach set out in the Wellbeing Policy is a whole school and preventative approach. The Wellbeing Policy contains a number of high level actions including an action to promote the wellbeing of school staff. The policy recognises the importance...

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

Norma Foley: It would not be appropriate that resources or materials produced or funded by the gambling industry, for education and awareness on gambling, are in use in our schools. There are protocols in place to ensure that strict criteria are observed by schools when inviting external agencies to address students about particular issues. The Department provides clear guidance to schools on the...

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

Norma Foley: DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the main policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. 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...

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 Deputy will be aware that a building project to construct permanent school accommodation for the three schools in question is included in the Department's school building programme to be delivered as part of the National Development Plan. This project follows an extremely challenging and protracted site acquisition process, under which a CPO process ultimately had to be undertaken. The...

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

Norma Foley: There are two standard routes recognised by the Teaching Council to become a primary teacher: - A four-year undergraduate Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) programme. - A two-year post-graduate Professional Master of Education (PME) programme. The undergraduate/B. Ed. model offers students who are beginning their tertiary education, and wish to pursue a career in teaching, an...

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

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 Accommodation (24 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, St. Mary’s National School is the result of the 1998 amalgamation of three schools in the St. Mary's parish. The school is operating in accommodation on two sites, directly across the road from one another, and has submitted an application to my Department for the provision of a new school building on one of these sites. The main focus of my...

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

Norma Foley: It was a very significant achievement to have secured €9.6 billion for Education in Budget 23. This funding allows many ground-breaking investments in our education system, furthering the work of recent years, for example class sizes, tackling disadvantage, reducing costs for families, and supporting the achievement of all our students. As part of the Cost of Living measures...

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

Norma Foley: The quality of our teaching profession is a critical factor in sustaining and enhancing the quality of education outcomes. The Department of Education promotes the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of continuing professional development and supports for teachers and principals. The Department ensures that a range of high-quality models of Continuing Professional...

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...