Results 16,781-16,800 of 19,632 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Data (8 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: 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 Information System, utilising data from a range of sources including information on planned and current residential development, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise.  Trim...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (8 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Part V of the Disability Act 2005 requires that public bodies promote and support the employment of people with disabilities and ensure that 3% of staff employed by them are people with disabilities.  The requirement applies to the Department of Education and certain of its aegis bodies. In 2018, the reported percentage of employees with a disability under the definition of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department has introduced and is implementing effective control measures on an ongoing basis to ensure that physical distancing can be observed at all times by staff in accordance with the Work Safely Protocol. The facility to work remotely has been introduced and communications and meetings are now conducted through online platforms. Control measures have also been implemented, in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department has not been the subject of a statutory investigation by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) initiated since 2016. There was one statutory investigation concluded in 2019, but this was initiated by the Data Protection Commissioner in 2015 in relation to the introduction of the Pupil Online Database (POD). The recommendations arising have been implemented. I am aware that...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: State Examinations (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Department Circular M02/95 sets out the position for those students who wish to repeat a year at post primary level. Schools have discretion to accept applications form students who wish to repeat a school year. Schools have been advised to positively consider requests from those students seeking to repeat their final year for the purposes of repeating their Leaving Certificate in the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: School Places (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas for the 2021/2022 school year, including the school planning area to which the Deputy refers. 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 –...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Schools Site Acquisitions (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers opened in September 2019 in suitable interim accommodation pending delivery of its permanent building. For the 2021/22 academic year it will be necessary to move the school to an alternative interim location and options are currently being explored in that regard. My Department will continue to keep the Patron body and the school authorities undated on...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Pension Provisions (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the 2% pension increase payable to retired teachers has been implemented on the retired teachers payroll operated by my Department. This was implemented with effect from the 1st October 2020.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: State Examinations (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission 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 Defence: School Transport (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: School Transport (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: School Accommodation (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. Once the application has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: School Transport (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Schools Site Acquisitions (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Officials from my Department have been working closely with Galway City Council and Galway County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites in order to identify and procure a suitable site for the school in question. A number of potential site options have been identified and these are currently under consideration. While a site acquisition process is...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: School Staff (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. The starting salary for a new entrant teacher in 2012 was €30,702. As a result of the programme of pay restoration, the starting salary of a teacher is now €37,692. Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides that “the Minister [for Public...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Legislative Measures (3 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to assure the Deputy that I fully support improving educational outcomes for Travellers, and that includes ensuring that the school setting is a more welcoming environment. Developing knowledge and understanding of Traveller culture and history in schools will help build a recognition of the important value of Traveller culture and history to this country and help to improve a sense...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (2 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator for his generous remarks about the work of the Department of Education and how the challenges of Covid-19 are being managed. He also acknowledged how those challenges are being managed on the ground by school communities and I also wish to express my own sincere thanks in that regard. The ongoing work is a challenge that is being met on a daily basis with the immense...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (2 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I confirm that I appreciate the Senator raising this issue because it has given me an opportunity to outline the determination of the Department to advance this project. I assure him that the Department will continue to work with the patron and the school authorities on advancing this matter. As the Senator earlier outlined, the priority that is being given to this project is underlined by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education (2 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Physical activity (PE) is important and students should be encouraged to participate in PE in schools. My Department has published guidance for practical subjects in Post Primary Schools, including guidance for PE. This guidance is based on Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) guidance for the return to sports activities for children and adolescents. The guidance provides that,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (2 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department’s Design and Build Programme which tenders to pre-established frameworks of D&B contractors. My Department is currently in the process of establishing a Framework of Design and Build Contractors to which Design and Build projects can be tendered. Once this framework is established, it is...