Results 11,821-11,840 of 19,598 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Mar 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 over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.  The purpose of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that a member of staff from the Post Primary Payroll Division of my Department has been in contact with the school, and with the teacher concerned, regarding this matter. The teacher received a final Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration payment on 10th March, 2022, following which she will return to normal pay, with effect from the next...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: Circular 0063/2021 which issued in December 2021 notified teachers of a revised closing date of the 30th April 2022 to apply for outstanding qualification allowances. My Department has received an application from the teacher in question. Correspondence issued to Ms. Murphy on 14thMarch 2022 advising on the procedure to be followed in order to be eligible to be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department does not have plans for a major primary school project at Newtownsmith, Galway. My Department proposes using the property to temporarily decant an existing primary school while a permanent school building is being constructed elsewhere for the school in question.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that the criteria for the awarding of incremental credit to registered teachers at second level schools, is set out in my Departments Circulars 0029/2007 and 0029/2010. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC).  This Council is comprised of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (22 Mar 2022)

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 30th September. Staffing arrangements for the 2022/23 school year will be published shortly and schools will be able to establish their staffing for the coming school year. The staffing arrangements also...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Infrastructure (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The policy of my Department is to offer the best quality connectivity to all schools in line with the technical solutions available in the market and within financial constraints. Currently investment of some €13m is allocated annually for the provision of internet connectivity to schools. Broadband capacity can vary across geographical locations and is dependent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: My department has issued guidance to schools on supporting students from Ukraine that enquire about enrolling. Where children of school-going age have arrived already and want to access the school system right away, schools that have capacity locally will welcome those children in the usual way. Our schools are well-practiced in welcoming children of all nationalities and backgrounds and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The Department will be providing additional resources to support schools who have received pupils/students from Ukraine requiring language supports. This additional resource will be provided to schools based on the number of children requiring language (EAL) support. Recognising the significance of language in shaping individual experiences, the National Council for Curriculum and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department have been working closely with both Galway City Council and Galway County Council to identify and acquire a Permanent Site for the Galway Educate Together Secondary School under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding. To date, following extensive site identification and assessment exercises, a number of permanent site options have been identified in both the East of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pensions (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: Under the terms of the Civil Service Pension schemes, in the event a Civil Servant, due to their particular qualifications or skills set, is re-engaged after retirement, pension abatement rules apply in order that the retired official’s remuneration does not exceed the remuneration the officer would have received had s/he remained in service. A Civil Servant who has a serious...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: Ownership and control of school property is a complex issue, both constitutionally and in terms of property law and rights.  Typically, it can involve religious trusts, trustees, religious orders, the bishops both as landowners and school patrons and the State. Where a school property is in the Minister’s ownership, a leasing arrangement will not arise.   However, for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: Ownership and control of school property is a complex issue, both constitutionally and in terms of property law and rights.  Typically, it can involve religious trusts, trustees, religious orders, the bishops both as landowners and school patrons and the State. Where a school property is in the Minister’s ownership, a leasing arrangement will not arise. However, for historical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware I recently announced that arrangements are being put in place in a number of towns and areas of cities that have no multi-denominational primary schools to identify potential schools and to engage with school authorities, school staff and the school communities with a view to agreeing on a transfer of patronage and change of ethos, where there is sufficient demand...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: The purpose of the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. This situation can arise where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section...

Education (Voluntary Contributions) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (10 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: With all due respect to the Deputy, who does not have the courtesy to wait to hear my response, in my experience, righteous indignation and rhetoric are no replacement for action and delivery. He has referred to a lack of investment in education, but the largest budget that has ever been made available to the education sector of in excess of €10 billion is a considerable investment....

Education (Voluntary Contributions) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (10 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Eireann resolves that the Education (Voluntary Contributions) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months to allow for the progression of the Education (Student and Parent Charter) Bill 2019 and for that then to be taken into account in the consideration of this Bill."....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (10 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I can assure the Deputy that it is the policy of my Department to ensure a high standard of permanent accommodation for all schools. However, in the context of a rapidly increasing school population over the past decade or more, it is sometimes necessary to put in place interim accommodation solutions to meet the needs of schools. Given the timeframes for the acquisition of suitable sites,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (10 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to be clear regarding the leaving certificate and junior cycle classes of 2022. Significant accommodations have already been made on the papers for leaving certificate students, and equally so in respect of junior cycle students. We are looking at classroom-based assessments being cut by 50% and the assessment task being removed so as to allow for greater contact time in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (10 Mar 2022)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. To plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, GIS, using data from a range of sources, to identify where the pressure for school places throughout the country will arise. With this information, the Department carries out nationwide...