Results 1,141-1,160 of 19,404 for speaker:Norma Foley

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: By infrastructure, we mean school buildings, really, specifically the project roll-out of those school buildings. I am very happy to come back-----

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes, absolutely.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: We have a forward planning unit within the Department and it is very successful. We now liaise with local authorities, for example, on their future projections. We also gather all the data that is necessary. It is a GIS system. We engage with child benefit and so on. As regards the figures we are talking about here, we have currently 350 projects on the ground at construction, and the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: 100%. We have a very strong record of being on time and on budget. I acknowledge the work of the planning and building unit and am here in the company of Mr. Loftus, but I also acknowledge the work of all those who work with the Department to ensure there is strong delivery.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: In the first instance I want to talk about the National Council for Special Education and how we have expanded it significantly. We made provision in the previous budget for an additional 160 staff and that they would be specifically people who were on the ground, such as the special needs organisers who are engaging directly on the ground with the schools. We also see it now as part of...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy very much.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department provides funding for the start up of sensory rooms by way of grant funding, this funding is to the value of €7,000. However, this is predicated on the existence of an NCSE sanctioned SEN classroom within the school in question. It is not currently possible to avail of the sensory room start up grant for a school that does not have an NCSE sanctioned classroom. It should...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 296, 297, 379 and 388 together. The Department along with the Government is committed to supporting the provision of appropriate education to children with disabilities. Budget 2025 provides for a record level of investment in special education with €2.9 billion of my Department’s overall budget allocated for special education. This is a 6%...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I refer to your recent correspondence seeking information on the number of students required in a secondary school in order to qualify for a second secretary. The position is that work is currently underway on developing and publishing an allocation model for school secretaries. This is a complex task and requires factoring in a number of elements - such as school status, class type,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary 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 such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. In previous budgets, I have prioritised reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Schooling (22 Oct 2024)

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 the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is the key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I understand from discussion with the deputy’s office that this parliamentary question refers to the costing of an additional Grade VII administrative staff member. The pay scales for administration staff within the ETB sector are set out in Circular 0075/2024 'Revision of Salaries and Allowances of Certain Grades other than Teachers and SNAs employed by ETBs under The Public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Currently University College Dublin (UCD) and Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick offer programmes for those who wish to qualify as an Educational Psychologist. Matters relating to the number of students on the programme and the associated costs are a matter for the colleges and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science. In relation to workforce...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Active School Flag (ASF) is an initiative of the Department of Education and administered through Mayo Education Centre. It is jointly funded by the Departments of Education and Health (through Healthy Ireland). The aim of the programme is to get ‘more schools, more active, more often’. The Active School Programme comprises of three different parts: Active School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will appreciate that the costs in question will vary significantly depending on the specific circumstances. I have requested my Department to provide information in respect of typical capital costs directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Department of Education standard Schedule of Area allocates 100m2 to the External Sensory Garden which is a secure external resource for the school. The specific design requirements of the sensory garden depend on the type, size, and cohort of pupils attending the school. Average Cost Range for Sensory Garden based on a New Build green field site, relatively level, free from significant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will appreciate that the costs in question will vary significantly depending on the specific circumstances. I have requested my Department to provide information in respect of typical capital costs directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will appreciate that the costs in question will vary significantly depending on the specific circumstances. I have requested my Department to provide information in respect of typical capital costs directly to the Deputy.