Results 1,541-1,560 of 19,412 for speaker:Norma Foley

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Tuigim an méid atá á rá ag an Teachta. I understand what she is saying. I have not seen the draft. I did not receive it yet and therefore I cannot say what is in it. I do not know. The consultation process has been quite comprehensive. We will have to wait and see what emerges from it. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying, that they are not happy with the...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: I hear what the Deputy is saying. I have to reiterate that I have not seen it. I note the concerns she has expressed. I had better see what is in the policy and decide from there. It will be virtually impossible to keep everybody happy and ensure there is unanimous agreement; I will acknowledge that. I note what the Deputy is saying, I hear the concerns she has raised and I await the draft.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Gan dabht.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: The Deputy is correct. There was and is a very positive story in Synge Street CBS. I congratulate everybody involved in bringing it to the point it is at. I particularly acknowledge the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, ERST, for its role in this. We look forward to this perhaps being a role model for others going forward, in addition to all the other efforts being made. I hear what the...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: I am happy to look at anything. I hear that proposal. The exemptions were introduced in the first place primarily for children who were coming from abroad. They were then extended to cater for children with additional needs. Twenty-five percent of children in our schools present with a learning or additional need. In the entirety of the 1 million students we have, just over 6.7-6.9% of...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: May I make one comment about special education and the view the Deputy believes the Department has toward children with additional needs or learning difficulties who avail of the exemption? It is quite staggering to think that 25% of our students present with some learning or additional need and yet only 7% of them are availing of an exemption. It is very clear in the circulars to the...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: I appreciate what Deputy Connolly said. We are all at a disadvantage here because we have not seen the policy yet, draft or otherwise. Deputy Farrell raised Wales, where I visited. I was very keen to see the remarkable progress that is being made there. I met with staff, young people and experts in that area to get a feel for how they were making progress. In terms of the specific...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: That is what we are at currently. From the start to the end of the Government, we will be looking at every point to double the numbers between now and the next ten years or whatever. We are making progress-----

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: No. At whatever point we look we look at it from and whatever base we are looking at, it is the overall aim of Government that we would, at the very least, double the numbers that are availing of education through Irish, in whatever form that may be.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: I imagine that within the next ten years we will see a doubling of the numbers of students availing of education through Irish, including the previous four years. We have six years left. Within ten years we would like to see a doubling of the numbers.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: The last consultation on this only took place last Friday. I have absolutely no idea what is going to be in this. I imagine, given that the vision, aim and objective is to strengthen the Irish language, that there will be objectives and aims within it that are distinct from the framework referred to earlier. The framework is a skeleton or a sort of overview. There will be stronger...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Ultimately I will sign off on it.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Tá a fhios agam.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: I appreciate what the Deputy is saying. It is interesting to note that the exemptions at primary school level have decreased. This has not been by a huge amount but they have decreased from 3.25% in 2017-2018 to 2.9%. They have increased at post-primary level from 9% to approximately 13%. There are 25% of the general student cohort who have a learning or additional need, and 60% of those...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: It depends. This is just of the young people with additional needs, and they have different levels of need.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Níl.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, a review of that is ongoing and will be completed in 2026. That will give us a better insight into what is being achieved currently in comparison with what was there previously. Even with things like oral Irish, when there was an option for that to be provided as part of the junior cycle, 40% of schools availed of that, whereas with the new class-based...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: It started in 2023 but there was a break prior to that because of Covid-19 or some such thing. Does Ms O’Connor wish to speak on that point?

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: Cur Chuige an Stáit i gCur Chun Cinn Chóras Gaeloideachais: An tAire Oideachais (25 Sep 2024)

Norma Foley: We are prepared to look at every opportunity. For example, we have satellite schools and supports operating where there are existing schools in place but they cannot get the support of additional teachers so we do that by satellite. Specifically, I understand the Deputy is asking around lowering the numbers if there are, for example, only six students on an island.