Results 14,001-14,020 of 19,621 for speaker:Norma Foley

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge and appreciate the Senator's remarks on CLASS. I come from a rural constituency. I am an enormous fan of the smaller rural schools, as I am of all schools, but I appreciate the widest experience of education, which is in the smaller and larger schools. We were very clear in the manner in which we laid out the supports for the schools that it would be weighted in terms of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: This past year and, indeed, the year previously were extraordinary, not only in terms of education but across society. It has been a significant achievement that this country was in a position to offer the class of 2021 the opportunity to participate in the accredited grades process but also take the written examinations or, indeed, opt for a combination of both. That was in recognition of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator. I appreciate the points she has made. I will start with her final point. As regards lockers, I am very familiar with how that works and I absolutely appreciate how students and families are being discommoded in that respect. This was done in the context of Covid to ensure there was a minimisation of students circulating within schools and moving from classrooms to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: As a consequence of the disruption to education caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, measures were put in place to seek to compensate for the loss of learning of this year's Leaving Certificate students. These students had the choice to sit examinations, (adjusted to take account of students' experience over their Senior Cycle), opt for Accredited Grades, or both, on a subject by subject...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: Officials from my Department have been working closely with Kerry Co Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites in order to identify and procure a suitable site for the school.  A number of potential site options have been identified and investigated.  Unfortunately in the case of most of the options identified, either the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The Department expects to publish the transition rates from post-primary to higher education for years 2019 & 2020 as part of our annual Education Indicators for Ireland report which is in development and is scheduled to be published before the end of 2021. Transition data for the year 2021 will not be available until 2022. The last year we have published date for is 2018, from our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I refer to your recent e-mail to the Minister for Education, Ms. Norma Foley TD, in relation to a new secondary school for Kildare Town. As has been previously advised, while a site acquisition process is under way, given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time. Please rest assured that this project is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The planned establishment of a new post-primary school in 2022 to serve the Drumcondra_Marino_Dublin 1 school planning area was announced in 2018 as a result of a countrywide demographic exercise. A further exercise has since been conducted on the necessity for the establishment of a number of planned new schools, including the school to serve this school planning area, taking into account...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department is aware of the challenging market conditions for tender processes that are currently under way. The school building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department’s Design and Build Programme. On June 14th 2021, this project was included in a bundle of projects which were tendered to a newly established Design & Build Contractors...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The response to confirmed cases or outbreaks of COVID-19 in the community or in a school is the responsibility of, and will be led and managed by, Public Health HSE. The Department of Education has always been guided by public health advice in relation to the infection prevention and control measures appropriate for schools. Current public health advice does not provide for saliva testing in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Costs (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/21 school year there were over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 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 €224.7m in 2020. The purpose of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The safety and welfare of employees and the minimisation of the impact of COVID-19 in the workplace are important principles in the management of COVID-19. The Government published the ‘Work Safely Protocol’ in November 2020. It incorporates advice and guidance on the public health measures needed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace as issued by National Public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (16 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 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 €224.7m in 2020. All children who are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Infrastructure (16 Sep 2021)

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 on local...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (15 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State. The Teaching Council registers teachers in line with the requirements set out in the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and the Teaching Council (Registration)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (15 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors: - Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place  to a number of schools in the area - School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (15 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The vast majority of properties which were previously used as schools are privately owned. In many cases the owner is the local diocese or a religious congregation. Any decision on the use of these private properties is a matter for the owner. There are a small number of properties which had previously been used as schools in the ownership of me as Minister for Education or the Education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (15 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provides leadership training and development opportunities for staff in line with identified demand, evolving business need and corporate developments.  In this context, staff from my Department have attended programmes provided by Common Purpose Ireland Ltd from 2015 to 2021 inclusive. My Department also engaged the services of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (15 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved funding in September 2019 for the provision of 4 General Classroom, Technical Graphics/Design & Communications room, Home Economics room, SET room and ancillary accommodation under my Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme (ASA). In relation to the school’s application for a Sports Hall, as the Deputy is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (15 Sep 2021)

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. Budget 2021 implemented a 1 point reduction in the staffing schedule for primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to the lowest ever seen at primary level.  In...