Results 1,441-1,460 of 20,049 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As part of its forward planning, my Department has identified the need for a new special school to be established in the Lucan area for the 2025/26 school year. This will be a very important local facility for families and children in the Lucan area who require a school place in a special school. My Department considers that this need can be best met through the Lucan East ETNS school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As part of my Department’s forward planning, it has identified the need for a new special school to be established in the Lucan area for the 2025/26 school year. This will be a very important local facility for families and children in the Lucan area who require a school place in a special school. My Department considers that this need can be best met through the Lucan East ETNS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Investment and expenditure on sports facilities is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme. The provision of outdoor play areas form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. Practically all schools have outdoor play areas, and many...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Transition Year is a valuable optional programme for pupils that offers opportunities for life skills, personal, social and academic development and exploration of future pathways in an environment away from the pressures of state examinations. In 2022, I announced an ambitious programme of work for a re-imagined Senior Cycle of education and directed that a new Transition Year Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered as part of my Department's ADAPT Programme. The Design Team lodged the application for planning permission for the preferred design option with the Local Authority in October 2023. The Design Team subsequently received a substantial Request for Further Information (RFI) from the Local Authority in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The application to which the Deputy refers has been approved by my Department and currently lies with the school to progress next steps.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). The relevant circular applying here is 10/2001. These circulars...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that approval has issued to the School Authority in question under the Additional School Accommodation scheme for the provision of 2 Mainstream Classrooms, 1 Special Education Tuition, 2 Special Educational Needs Classrooms, 1 Central Activities room, 1 Skills room and 1 Office under the Departments Modular Accommodation Framework. The project is being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school in question submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the EWS team under the appeals process. Once this review process is complete the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature of the works required and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application, under the Additional School Accommodation scheme, from the school in question, for both mainstream and special education classrooms. The purpose of the Additional School Accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are funded by my Department via a range of pay and non-pay budget allocations in respect of their schools and head offices. These includes funding for the pay of certain ETB staff (including head office and school staff), funding for the day-to-day running of schools, specific grants (e.g. schoolbooks scheme, transition year programme), targeted...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy as follows: There has been provision for an exemption from the study of Irish at Post-primary level since the foundation of the state and at primary level since 1979 (under circular 18/79). Currently, the policy on exemption from the study of Irish is outlined in circular 0054/2022 (Primary) and 0055/2022 (Post Primary). Decisions on the granting of exemptions from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Given the challenges of the school site referred to by the Deputy, my department continues to engage with the school patron to advance the provision of required accommodation at this school. My department is engaging with the patron regarding both the short and longer-term accommodation needs at the school including special education needs requirements and we are working to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy, to provide a new 16 classroom special education school, is at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The authorisation to issue the Letter of Intent issued to the design team in late October 2024, my department officials are currently reviewing the supplementary tender...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the department. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter my Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project under my Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) Scheme, to provide a 4 classroom SEN unit as an extension to the existing school building. The project has been devolved for delivery to Louth & Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB). I am pleased to advise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The Campus project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to CEIST. The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning design process. This stage of the process allows for detailed design/planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents. The planning application was submitted to Fingal County Council in August...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The major project referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The project brief is for a 32 classroom school with 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs and all ancillary accommodation. A tender report was received by Department Officials in 2023, in the course of the review it was noted that the planning permission...