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Norma Foley (born 1970) is an Irish
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
politician who has served as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality since January 2025. She previously served as Minister for Education from 2020 to 2025. She has been a
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...
(TD) for Kerry since
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
.


Local politics

Foley was previously a member of Kerry County Council for the
Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...
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.


Dáil Éireann

After failing in her bid to secure a nomination as a general election candidate in Kerry North in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, Foley was added to the Fianna Fáil ticket as Tom McEllistrim's
running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...
in the same constituency in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. She polled 4,937 first preference votes and finished fifth overall in the three-seat constituency after being eliminated on the third count. Foley again failed in her bid to secure a nomination as a general election candidate in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, but was a late addition to the ticket as a third Fianna Fáil candidate in the Kerry constituency in advance of the 2020 general election. She polled 6,856 first preference votes and secured the fifth and final seat at the expense of her party colleague John Brassil on the eighth count. 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 leader
Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...
in his successful bid to become
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
. At the 2024 general election, Foley was re-elected to the Dáil.


Minister for Education

Foley was appointed Minister for Education in June 2020 following the formation of a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Her tenure to date has resulted in several gaffes, most prominently involving the COVID-19 impact on education and state examinations. In September 2020, Foley announced that two coding errors were identified in the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system. 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. It was later confirmed that a third error was identified. 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 the
ASTI Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...
directed its members not to return to in-school teaching. 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. In February, Foley announced a new phase of planning for the Leaving Certificate exams, 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. In March, she lost her appeals against findings that two home-schooled students were unfairly excluded from the Leaving Certificate calculated grades process. On 17 December 2022, she was re-appointed to the same position following Leo Varadkar's appointment as Taoiseach.


Minister for Children, Disability and Equality

On 23 January 2025, Foley was appointed as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
led by
Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...
, following the 2024 general election.


Personal life

Prior to becoming a TD, she was a teacher at Presentation Secondary School, Tralee. She is married to fellow teacher Denis Maguire. Her father Denis Foley was a Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry North from 1981 to 1989 and 1992 to 2002.


References


External links


Norma Foley's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Norma 1970 births Living people Fianna Fáil TDs Irish schoolteachers Members of Kerry County Council Members of the 33rd Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála People from Tralee Ministers for education of Ireland Women government ministers of the Republic of Ireland Members of the 34th Dáil