Norma Foley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Foley in 2024 | |
| Minister for Children, Disability and Equality | |
| Assumed office 23 January 2025 | |
| Taoiseach | |
| Preceded by | Roderic O'Gorman |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 27 June 2020 – 23 January 2025 | |
| Taoiseach | |
| Preceded by | Joe McHugh |
| Succeeded by | Helen McEntee |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Kerry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) Tralee,County Kerry, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University College Cork |
Norma Foley (born 1970)[1][2] is an IrishFianna Fáil politician who has served asMinister for Children, Disability and Equality since January 2025. She previously served asMinister for Education from 2020 to 2025. She has been aTeachta Dála (TD) forKerry since2020.[3]
Foley was previously a member ofKerry County Council for theTralee local electoral area, serving from 1994 until her election to the Dáil in 2020. She also served as a member of Tralee Urban District Council until its abolition in 2014.[4]
After failing in her bid to secure a nomination as a general election candidate inKerry North in2002, Foley was added to the Fianna Fáil ticket asTom McEllistrim'srunning mate in the same constituency in2007.[5] She polled 4,937 first preference votes and finished fifth overall in the three-seat constituency after being eliminated on the third count.[citation needed]
Foley again failed in her bid to secure a nomination as a general election candidate in2016, but was a late addition to the ticket as a third Fianna Fáil candidate in theKerry constituency in advance of the2020 general election.[6][7] She polled 6,856 first preference votes and secured the fifth and final seat at the expense of her party colleagueJohn Brassil on the eighth count.[8][9][10] Johnnie Wall was co-opted to Foley's seat on Kerry County Council following her election to the Dáil. On her first day in the Dáil, Foley proposed her party leaderMicheál Martin in his successful bid to becomeTaoiseach.
At the2024 general election, Foley was re-elected to the Dáil.
Foley was appointedMinister for Education in June 2020 following the formation of acoalition government, during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.[11] Her tenure to date has resulted in several gaffes, most prominently involving theCOVID-19 impact on education and state examinations.[12][13] In September 2020, Foley announced that two coding errors were identified in theLeaving Certificate calculated grades system.[14] She apologised and announced that around 7,200 students were affected, receiving a higher grade than they should have while some students received a lower grade.[15] It was later confirmed that a third error was identified.[16]
In January 2021, Foley and the government were forced to abandon plans for Leaving Certificate students to attend school for three days a week, and instead students would return to homeschooling until February, after theASTI directed its members not to return to in-school teaching.[17] Also in January, Foley was forced to abandon plans to reopen special schools for thousands of children with special educational needs following safety concerns among staff unions.[18] In February, Foley announced a new phase of planning for the Leaving Certificate exams,[19] but the ASTI withdrew from discussions with the Department of Education after it said that the plan being developed would not provide a "meaningful Leaving Certificate" for students.[20] In March, she lost her appeals against findings that two home-schooled students were unfairly excluded from the Leaving Certificate calculated grades process.[21]
On 17 December 2022, she was re-appointed to the same position following Leo Varadkar's appointment as Taoiseach.[22]
On 23 January 2025, Foley was appointed asMinister for Children, Disability and Equality in thegovernment led byMicheál Martin, following the2024 general election.[23]
Prior to becoming a TD, she was a teacher at Presentation Secondary School, Tralee. She is married to fellow teacher Denis Maguire. Her fatherDenis Foley was a Fianna Fáil TD forKerry North from 1981 to 1989 and 1992 to 2002.[24] In May 2000, her father became the first TD to receive a penalty for breaching the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.[25]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Education 2020–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth | Minister for Children, Disability and Equality 2025–present | Incumbent |