Results 9,981-10,000 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs including heating, lighting etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. These grants may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2023 (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: Over recent budgets, additional resources have been made available to our schools, including through the delivery of thousands of extra teaching and Special Needs Assistant posts, increased capitation in schools, enhanced supports for school leadership and an improved staffing schedule in primary schools. My aim for Budget 2023 is to continue to deliver on the priorities outlined in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the 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 at a cost of over €289m in 2021. In July 2022, Government...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: Each primary school receives a Special Education Teaching allocation. The Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile and also encompasses the Language Support (EAL) allocation that schools were allocated in previous years. Further temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, a major building project for the school in question is included in my Department's school building programme. This major building project will be delivered under the Department's ADAPT (Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tender) Programme, which uses the services of a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the 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 at a cost of over €289m in 2021. It is Bus Éireann company...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (21 Sep 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 prohibits...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the 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 at a cost of over €289m in 2021. In July 2022, Government announced...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the 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 at a cost of over €289m in 2021. In July 2022, Government announced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The Senator is correct that there are two motivations here, but the cost of living is the primary one. Climate action is very much part of the root and branch analysis of the current system.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: I briefly referred to the this in my opening remarks. The review constituted significant engagement and I believe that is what we all wanted. We have had more than 8,000 engagements from parents, 2,000 from students, engagements from bus operators, bus providers. We have also engaged directly with our European counterparts to examine best practice and alternative practice in other areas....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: I am hopeful that it will be completed shortly, by the end of this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: Every aspect is bring looked at, including eligibility criteria. Therefore, it very much forms part of the review.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: In the first instance the decision that was taken was to waive the fees for those who met the eligibility criteria. It is fair to say that 124,000 pupils in mainstream are availing of that as opposed to 103,000 last year is a significant achievement, particularly in terms of the cost of living. People are asked to apply, to register and complete registration by 29 July. If there have been-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: No, the system was that they applied and they completed the registration by 29 July. The registration closed at that point. Anybody who was eligible at that point and who had registered on time was eligible for a ticket. The criteria did not change as part of the cost of living measures-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: In a small number of instances - it concerns just over 600 people who are eligible - Bus Éireann is currently seeking to find buses, bus drivers or whatever the case might be. They will be provided with bus transport if they have applied on time and they are eligible. It is important to say that in some areas there are constraints in the same way that we have seen in other sectors...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: If I could just-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I agree with his comment that the school transport system is beneficial and important. The Deputy referred to capacity. We have already seen an increase of more than 21% in capacity. As I said, 124,000 young people are now availing of that transport system, as opposed to 103,000 this time last year. Those who qualify to avail of it meet the criteria. The criteria for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Norma Foley: The eligibility criteria are clear.