Results 15,841-15,860 of 19,632 for speaker:Norma Foley
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 Mar 2021)
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 113,100 children, including over 14,500 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 €224.7m in 2020. The purpose of my Department's...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Advertising (10 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The Department's spending on advertising in relation to Covid-19 for the period 1 March 2020 to 1 March 2021 is outlined in the attached spreadsheet.
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pension Provisions (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: My Department pays the salaries and pensions for current and former school staff who work or have worked in primary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools. All pay and pension increases have been implemented for the current and former school staff who work or have worked in primary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools. In relation to retired staff of Education and...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (4 Mar 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. My Department has confirmed with Public Health that the enhanced Public Health schools teams will be available to fully support schools that have reopened, and that full contact tracing and bulk fast-track testing within the...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: My Department has no role in providing guidance of a clinical or medical nature. However the HPSC have published the following definition of a close contact in an educational setting In accordance with current HPSC close contacts guidelines a clinical Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA) will be undertaken for all educational settings where a confirmed case has attended whilst...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including applications for assistive technology. SENOs then make recommendations to my Department. Therefore, I have referred the query in relation to this application to...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: On 17 February, I confirmed that Leaving Certificate 2021 examinations will proceed and students will also have the alternative option of applying for grades accredited by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), to be known as SEC-Accredited Grades. This decision follows intensive engagement with education stakeholders bilaterally and through the Planning for State Examinations 2021...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that Special Needs Assistants employed by the Department of Education, who are members of the original pension scheme, are permitted to work to the age of 70, and if employed on a contract of employment that extends to that date. If they are new entrants to the original pension scheme, they are permitted to work beyond the age of 70 if their contract extends...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home School Community Liaison Scheme (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: I understand from my officials that the school in question has the services of a Home School Community Liaison Coordinator (HSCL) post shared with another school. Work by my Department on the refinement of the new DEIS identification model is nearing completion. A detailed analysis of school enrolment data and the latest data available from Census 2016, using the HP Deprivation Index,...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Early Start Programme (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The Early Start programme was established in 1994, and is a one-year intervention to meet the needs of children aged between 3 years and 5 years who are at risk of not reaching their potential within the school system. It involves an educational programme to enhance overall development, help prevent school failure and offset the effects of social disadvantage. Parental involvement is one of...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers opened in September 2020 in interim accommodation. The permanent school building, when constructed, will provide 16 mainstream classrooms, a 2 classroom Special Education Needs Base and appropriate ancillary accommodation.
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. The Design Team has recently submitted the Stage 2(b) Report for review to my Department. Upon review and...
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The building project for St Francis Special School is currently under construction and is nearing completion. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by the end of Quarter 1 2020.
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: With regard to the building works in relation to the school to which the Deputy refers I can confirm that the contractor commenced on site on 2 March 2021. The anticipated handover of this accommodation is late May 2021. The reason for the delay in commencing works was primarily due to Covid-19 and to the finalizing of the Licence Agreement. My Department's officials have kept the...
- Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: Regarding the provision of funding for ICT and related matters, I confirm that significant funding, in excess of €250 million, has been provided in a five-year period.
- Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: No, but the Deputy's question concerns making specific funding available to schools and in the last year some €100 million was made available to schools. In December 2020, some €50 million was made to schools. That was ideally with the notion that schools, as I have seen on the ground myself, would then be able to purchase laptops and tablets, or whatever the facility might...
- Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: The issue of bus transport and the facility not being used will be looked at by my Department and it will make an accommodation in respect of funds not being used even though they had been paid.
- Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: That means exactly what I have said. My Department will look at mechanisms to ensure that nobody will be out of pocket because of a service that did not run.
- Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)
Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy.