Results 3,061-3,080 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy regarding certain staff in my office is as follows: special adviser to the Minister, Ms Aevril Power, was appointed 29 September 2004 and has a salary of €75,036 per annum; personal assistant to the Minister, Mr. Carl Gibney, was appointed 29 September 2004 and has a salary of €47,921 per annum. Both staff members mentioned previously have standard...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 734 and 737 together. Road traffic accidents are investigated, in the first instance, by the Garda Síochána. The Garda examined the bus last week and concluded that there was no malfunction with the emergency door. My Department has requested, as a matter of urgency, a report from Bus Éireann on the findings of its inquiry into how the child came to fall...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 735 and 738 together. I too was shocked to hear of the fire on a school bus last week. I understand there were no students on the bus and the driver was not injured. The causes of the fire are unknown at this point but Bus Éireann are examining the remains of the bus carefully to establish how the fire happened. We know that the bus was a 1993 registered bus,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which became operational on 1 January 2005, now processes applications for special educational needs supports and decides on the level of support appropriate to the school. A total of 71 special educational needs organisers, SENOs, have been recruited throughout the country and will be a focal point of contact for...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has sanctioned an additional special needs teacher to the facility concerned and has also agreed to allocate funding to facilitate the expansion of the facility to cater for an additional six children.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the advertisement seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified consultants to form the design team for the school in question was placed on the public procurement portal, www.etenders.gov.ie on Friday, 24 June 2005. This is a two stage selection process and the closing date for receipt of expressions of interest — stage 1 — is 18 July...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 741 and 742 together. Over 1,340 schools will benefit from the announcements I have made so far this year with regard to the school buildings and modernisation programme. Of these only 12, or 0.9%, are fee charging schools. School building projects, whether for fee charging schools or schools in the free education scheme, are selected for inclusion in the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 743 and 744 together. During the five year period 2000-04, 26 private fee paying second level schools received funding from my Department under the school building programme. The allocation to the 26 schools amounted to €12,382,719 over the period. The funding represents 1.5% of the post primary budget for the years 2000 to 2004 and just over 0.5% of my...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The project being referred to by the Deputy is one of a number of dual use halls being funded as part of a joint programme to develop community sports facilities in drugs task force areas. Preliminary discussions have taken place with the other Departments which were part of this joint programme and also the relevant local authorities in respect of the management of the community aspect of...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule agreed between my Department and the education partners. In accordance with the staffing schedule which issued recently to boards of management, the mainstream staffing of the school for the 2005-06 school year will be a principal...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I wish to advise the Deputy that my officials have worked closely with the Health Service Executive, northern area to develop an appropriate placement for the person in question. This placement at the Woodlawns centre in north Dublin has met with the approval of the High Court and remains available to the person should his parents be willing to consider sending him there. I believe the care...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, a new scheme for allocating resource teachers to schools to cater for the needs of children with high incidence special needs and learning support needs was announced last month. The reason for the new scheme is simple. Children with special needs such as dyslexia or mild learning difficulties are found in almost every school. It makes sense then that every school...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is in receipt of an application for improved accommodation from the authorities of the school referred to by the Deputy. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria which was revised last year following consultation with the education partners. The project will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The future use of the site owned by my Department at Kingswood Heights, Tallaght, has not yet been determined. However, my Department has recently received a proposal from South Dublin County Council regarding a possible alternative use of the site in question. This proposal is currently under consideration and a decision will issue to the council as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Radon Gas: Radon Gas (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The position is that my Department, in co-operation with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, RPII, has been funding a radon detection and remediation programme in schools since 1998. The radon reference set for the workplace under the Radiological Protection Act 1991 (Ionising Radiation) Order 2000, SI 125 of 2000, is 400 Bq/m3. Notwithstanding the fact that the radon reference...

Written Answers — Education Centres: Education Centres (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The accommodation requirements of the Limerick education centre are under consideration in my Department. A number of options for the provision of appropriate accommodation in a suitable location are being explored. When a decision has been made on how best to provide for the needs of the centre, the project will be considered in the context of the school buildings and modernisation programme...

Written Answers — Education Fund: Education Fund (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of the indemnity agreement concluded between the State and religious congregations on 5 June 2002, provision was made for a fund of €12.7 million to be used to assist former residents of institutions and their families in pursuing educational programmes. Pending the establishment of this fund on a statutory basis, my Department introduced an administrative grants scheme for...

Written Answers — Education Fund: Education Fund (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005 provides for the establishment of a statutory education finance board to administer an education grant fund for former residents of certain institutions and their families. Section 23 of the Bill provides for an order to be made by me within one year of the enactment of the Bill appointing an establishment day for the board....

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The project referred to by the Deputy is one of a number of dual use halls being funded as part of a joint programme to develop community sports facilities in drugs task force areas. Preliminary discussions have taken place with the other Departments which were part of this joint programme and the relevant local authorities in relation to the management of the community aspect of these...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The pre-school referred by the Deputy appears to be a privately operated facility and is not funded by my Department. In the circumstances, it is not possible for my Department to sanction a teacher for the child in question while he is attending this facility.