Results 3,461-3,480 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of my Department's higher education grants scheme and the vocational education committees' scholarship scheme, grant assistance is available to eligible students attending approved third level courses in approved institutions. An approved course for the purpose of the schemes means a full-time undergraduate course of not less than two years duration and a full-time...
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Bus Ãireann, which operates the school transport service on behalf of my Department, has been asked to provide a report on the case referred to by the Deputy. When the report is received and considered, my Department will advise the Deputy of the position.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The staffing of this school for the 2005-06 school year was considered by the independent staffing appeal board on 14 June 2005. The board, having considered the appeal with regard to the criteria outlined in Department circular 19/02, was satisfied that a departure from the staffing schedule is not warranted in this case. It would not be appropriate for me to intervene in the operations of...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the higher education grants, HEG scheme, the vocational education committees' VEC scholarships scheme, the third level maintenance grants scheme for trainees and the maintenance grants scheme for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. The HEG scheme is administered by the...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary or post-primary level in a given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Liaison with existing schools is an important part of the process also, as the school...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The school referred to by the Deputy moved into temporary accommodation on 1 December 2001. The lease on that accommodation is for a five-year period, ending on 31 December 2006. The annual rental for the premises is â¬298,388. The school's contribution is capped at â¬3,175 per calendar year. The cost of architects' and consultants' fees relating to those premises was â¬94,623. A sum of...
- Written Answers — Third Level Staffing: Third Level Staffing (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Earlier this year I announced an extra 100 posts for this sector. So far, my Department has approved an additional 1,466 places on post-leaving certificate, or PLC, courses in the 2005-06 academic year. Based on a ratio of 16:1, that would involve an additional 91 teaching posts. To date, based on requests from post-primary schools and vocational education committees, my Department has...
- Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Negotiations on site acquisition for the school in question are under way. Once the site issue is finalised, the project will be considered for progression in the context of the schoolbuilding and modernisation programme 2005-2009.
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The school referred to by the Deputy applied for an extension and refurbishment to provide improved ancillary accommodation. The project proposed does not provide for any additional mainstream classrooms. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which were revised last year following consultation with the education partners. The project will...
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: For the purpose of the post-primary education scheme, the country has been divided into catchment areas, each of which has its own post-primary centre. Recognised post-primary pupils who live at least 4.8 km from the post-primary centre serving the catchment area in which they reside are eligible for transport to that centre under the scheme. Eligible pupils who wish to attend a post-primary...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I would be most anxious that children with disabilities should have their educational needs addressed within the jurisdiction. Decisions to place children in facilities outside the State have only been taken in exceptional circumstances and have usually arisen because of the specialised educational or health care needs of the children involved. In this regard my Department provides funding in...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department supports the education of individual students with autism in various second level schools throughout the country. Discussions are taking place with the management authorities of a small number of schools with a view to establishing second level provision for groups of children with autism who are now coming to a transition stage and are about to move from primary to second...
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 151 together. Under the terms of the primary school transport scheme children are eligible, subject to conditions, for free transport to their nearest national school or school of amalgamation. Pupils not attending their nearest national school or school of amalgamation may, subject to conditions, avail of concessionary fare paying transport to another...
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: In order to be considered eligible for school transport at primary level, a pupil must reside more than 3.2 km from and be attending their nearest school or school of amalgamation. Pupils who are ineligible for school transport under the conditions outlined above may avail of concessionary fare paying transport to the school being attended, provided the written agreement of the nearest...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The school extension project referred to by the Deputy has been tendered. A tender report is being prepared by the school's design team and will be forwarded to my Department for consideration as soon as it is completed.
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Sep 2005)
Mary Hanafin: For the purposes of post-primary education provision, the country is divided into catchment areas. Under the terms of the school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for school transport if he or she resides 4.8 km or more from the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which he or she lives. Eligible pupils who wish to attend a post-primary centre other than the one serving the...
- Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (4 Oct 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The organisation referred to by the Deputy is developing an integrated plan, entitled "Preparing for Life", which is intended to address the needs of children at each stage of their development in order to better prepare them for school. The plan involves mentoring and group training for parents to improve their skills, esteem and aspirations for their children. It is intended that the...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (4 Oct 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, was established as an independent statutory body with responsibilities as set out in the National Council for Special Education (Establishment) Order 2003. Since 1 January 2005, the NCSE, through local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, is responsible for processing resource applications for children with special educational needs....
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (4 Oct 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport is he or she resides 4.8 km or more from his or her local post-primary education centre, that is, the centre serving the catchment area in which he or she lives. In addition, an eligible pupil may be allowed the concession of transport, known as catchment boundary transport, to a centre other than...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (4 Oct 2005)
Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may be aware, the home tuition scheme is primarily intended to provide compensatory instruction for pupils who have a medical ailment that is likely to cause major disruption to their attendance at school. In this context, my Department provides home tuition grants in respect of pupils who cannot attend school at all, or who are absent for a significant proportion of the school...