Results 10,461-10,480 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (5 Jul 2022)

Norma Foley: Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty on our ambitious plans and deliver high quality building projects, with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland. This investment will build...

Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022: Second Stage (1 Jul 2022)

Norma Foley: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I appreciate the opportunity to introduce and speak on this important legislation, the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022. I fully recognise the importance of inclusive education for all children. It is my primary objective as Minister for Education to promote and support actions that will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. Again, I want to be clear. I have never been ambiguous around the fact that I am an advocate of students getting the maximum opportunity to showcase their talents and present themselves in the best possible light at every step in education, including in the leaving certificate exam. I have said very clearly that there will be a review of the operation of the scheme....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I am conscious of one of the motivations of this review, since I come from a rural county and know about its importance and its potential. That motivation is to ensure that we are meeting the needs of students and families, that we are providing opportunities, and that we have a clear emphasis on value for money. We also want to ensure we are conscious of accessibility for students and of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I underline the importance of this service. I am under no illusions about it and appreciate that the Deputy is not either. A significant service is being provided. More than 121,400 students avail of it. We intend to maximise use of the service. In recent years, more than 8,000 more students have availed of the service. Our objective is to ensure the maximum number of students are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission, SEC, has responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations and has provided me with the following information.  Candidates experience many forms of trauma and adversity, such as serious illness and bereavement, around the time of the leaving certificate examinations and may be sitting examinations at a time that is not...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: To be clear, the SEC has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. I am cognisant of the unique circumstances we find ourselves in this year, particularly due to Covid. I have been an advocate from the beginning that there should be a second sitting of the examination. I am mindful that students should have the maximum opportunity to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I salute the work of school communities, students and families, as well as the State Examinations Commission, in ensuring our students have this pathway forward. In March of this year, officials from the Department of Education and the State Examinations Commission briefed the further and higher education sector on challenges that could arise this summer, particularly with regard to the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Accommodation (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department has had engagement from both St. Laurence College and its trustees, Le Chéile Schools Trust, in respect of the school property. The school and trustees have indicated their willingness to support the Department in meeting educational needs in the area. This is very positive and welcome. The school has committed to making both mainstream places and places for pupils with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 121,400 children, including in excess of 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The cost in 2021 was more than €289 million. It is worth...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Admissions (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputies Stanton and Buckley and acknowledge their ongoing interest in this area. I also acknowledge the ongoing commitment of, and ongoing discussions with, Deputy O'Connor with regard to east Cork. As I have said, I am very familiar with the area and am very conscious of its growth and development. I appreciate the Deputies' acknowledgment of the significant investment the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, the State Examinations Commission, SEC, has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the leaving certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission and the Department of Education are acutely aware of the needs of candidates and other stakeholders in regard to the provision of leaving certificate results, and the State Examinations...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I reiterate that, irrespective of the Deputy's views, we are still in a Covid environment. For that reason, appropriate provision had to be made for students, taking that environment into account. That is exactly what students, their families and the school communities wanted. That is equally true with regard to our achievement in previous years. It is remarkable that, throughout the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Admissions (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes the 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 school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Admissions (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: We keep everything under constant review in terms of demand for places. It is important to point out there has been significant development in the east Cork area. The Deputy referenced Carrigtwohill Community College. That will be a new school building which will cater for 1,000 pupils plus 3 SEN classes and it is being delivered under the Department's design and build programme. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: Every opportunity is being provided here. The Department is very clear in its intention to deliver an ambitious schools building programme throughout the country which includes this school. As the Deputy can see from the report I have given, the project is moving apace. It is a significant acknowledgement that following the appointment of the project manager, the site visit has taken place...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: School secretaries and caretakers, as we have all agreed in this House, are very valued members of our school communities. I am fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools. I fully support, as does everyone, this important agreement which will improve their terms and conditions, and rightly so. The majority of primary and post-primary schools...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I have worked long enough in the sector to know that this had to be a priority for delivery. I was very pleased with the endorsement of the proposal in a ballot in which 95% of school secretaries voted in favour of the deal. However, I will be upfront and honest that there is a considerable body of work involved here. Each secretary is employed by the relevant school board of management....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: I assure the Deputy that absolute priority has been given to this matter. As I outlined, the individual case for each of the secretaries is not just a matter of acknowledging that there are secretaries in each of the schools. It is also a matter of gathering the individual data for each of the secretaries in terms of his or her service. That is a body of work and we are giving absolute...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The major building project for Gaelcholáiste Phort Láirge, Ballygunner, Waterford, will be delivered under the Department's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, programme. This programme uses a professional external project manager to co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of...