Results 10,941-10,960 of 20,049 for speaker:Norma Foley

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...

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

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I sincerely acknowledge the excellent work that goes on in the school, including its delivery of education to its students, its role in the community and the excellence of the entire school community. This school is a priority for delivery but there is a process. On the procurement process, in the first instance, the appointment of the project manager involved a...

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

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

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

Norma Foley: I agree with the Deputy. I believe there is an opportunity - it is one that we are taking via the review - to carry out a complete root and branch of the school transport service as regards how it meets the needs of students and families. The Deputy referred to how we can integrate the service, ensure best value for everybody concerned and so forth. He is correct that the interim review...

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

Norma Foley: In the first instance, I acknowledge that measures have already been introduced in the area of school transport costs and the cost of living. The Deputy will be aware that the Government announced there would be a reduced cap for fees for multiple children at post-primary level. It has now been reduced from €650 to €500 and from €220 to €150 at primary level. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The teaching of History in an impartial way is woven into the fabric of the History curricula in Irish schools and associated teacher Continuing Professional Development. The overarching aims of the Leaving Certificate syllabus is to respect and celebrate diversity. The study of History in itself is an opportunity for students to engage with diverse aspects of human experience in a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools and supporting small schools and I am delighted that significant progress has been made. In Budget 2022, I ensured major investment in our primary and post primary schools and brought the teacher allocation ratio in all primary schools to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Jun 2022)

Norma Foley: The Deputy has asked for information on primary and post-primary school places for the 10 years to 2022.  I will arrange to have details forwarded in tabular form. As a summary, I will say that enrolments at primary level over the last 10 years grew from 509,652 in the 2010/11 school year to 567,772 in 2018/19, and have been reducing since then. It is expected that they will continue to...