Results 3,841-3,860 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Childhood Development Initiative: Childhood Development Initiative (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 747 and 765 together. A key focus of education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. The wide variety of measures in place in Tallaght and other similar areas for tackling educational disadvantage and social exclusion reflects...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The specific information requested by the Deputy is not available. However, I advise the Deputy that at primary level there are now approximately 5,000 teachers in our primary schools working directly with children with special needs, including those requiring learning support. This compares to fewer than 1,500 in 1998. One out of every five primary school teachers is now working specifically...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The provision of therapies, including speech and language therapy, is a matter for my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The schools to which the Deputy refers have agreed to amalgamate into a single school and my officials are in discussion with the trustee and the local authority regarding how best to provide for the new school and such issues as site configuration, etc. These discussions are ongoing in tandem with consideration for progression in the context of the school building and modernisation programme...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As I confirmed for the Deputy on 28 September last, my Department reviewed the file on the child concerned in the last school year and based on the documentation that was submitted to my Department it was determined that the child concerned falls into the high incidence disability category. As the Deputy will be aware, a new general allocation system has been announced under which schools...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education — NCSE — which was established recently, and which has been operational since 1 January 2005, is responsible for processing applications for special educational needs — SEN — supports. My officials have been advised by the NCSE that the matter has been referred to the local special educational needs organiser —...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 753 to 755, inclusive, together. Where additional hours over and above normal working hours are worked by officers in the press office or any other unit of my Department, any such officers who are in grades designated as overtime grades are entitled to claim overtime or time off in lieu of overtime in respect of additional hours worked. Ex gratia or on call...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Individual officers of the Department of Education and Science are entitled to view their own personnel file on request and to receive a copy of any or all of the contents of the file. Personnel files are made available to the chief medical officer in certain sick leave cases. It would be general practice that information on personnel files for individual officers would be treated as strictly...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Four members of my Department's staff have received leave of absence in excess of two months for educational purposes since 2002. One staff member participated in the visiting research fellowship programme at the Policy Institute, Trinity College Dublin — TCD — from September to December 2004 — four months. The Policy Institute is a multidisciplinary public policy research institute...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 758 and 759 together. Details of refund of fees in respect of night-time or weekend study courses attended by staff in my Department over the last three years, 2002-2004, are in the following tables. Some 80 members of staff applied for a refund of fees in respect of courses undertaken at night or evenings in 2005. The value of refunds expected to be made in...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Since 1 January 2003 the Department of Education and Science spent €888.70 on briefcases. The amount refunded to staff in respect of purchases of briefcases in this period was €888.70. The number of staff who received briefcases and received refunds for the briefcases they purchased was seven. The largest single amount paid or refunded in respect of one briefcase was €150.00.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Some 20 personal digital assistants have been provided to staff in the Department. The total cost was €5,073, including VAT. The cost of the most expensive PDA was €361, including VAT. The devices were issued on a limited basis to the Secretary General, members of the management advisory committee, ministerial staff and IT support personnel. Personal digital assistants are not allocated...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Department of Finance issues instructions to all Departments from time to time on the arrangements for sick leave for civil servants. Instances of sick leave for officers within my Department are monitored in accordance with such instructions and, where necessary, the advice of the chief medical officer is sought in individual cases. The welfare and recovery of an officer on sick leave is...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 763 and 764 together. This company was appointed by the Department in 2002. The appointment was as a result of a tender competition. It was appointed to provide consultancy assistance and advice on the implementation of a new financial management information system. The contract was completed on time during 2003 at a total cost of €99,950 and I am satisfied...

Written Answers — Schools Evaluation: Schools Evaluation (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In the first half of 2005 there were 141 whole-school evaluations of primary schools. A further 130 whole-school evaluations are planned at primary level for the rest of 2005. At post-primary level there were 21 whole school evaluations in the first half of 2005. A further 32 evaluations are planned for the remainder of the year. There were 399 subject inspections at post-primary level in the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I assure the Deputy that I am 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 would usually have arisen because of the very specialised educational or health care-medical needs of the children involved. As the...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (19 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The amount allocated to Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, in the 2004 calendar year was €94.6 million. The expenditure is calculated under several headings including driver costs, running costs, road tax, payments to contractors, wages, insurance, claims and so forth. Receipts from fare paying passengers are also taken into account.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The total amount paid to Gartner by my Department since 1997 was €152,936.82. The details are as follows: £7,615.49 — equivalent to €9,669.68 — was spent on consultancy advisory service in 1997; £14,238.52 — equivalent to €18,079.19 — was spent on Datapro communications library-research advisory services in 1998; £273.40 — equivalent to €347.15 — was spent on research...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: This company was appointed by the Department in 2002. It was appointed to provide consultancy assistance and advice on the implementation of a new financial management information system. The appointment was as a result of a competitive tender. The tender outlined in detail the tasks to be performed by the successful company, required the tenderer to outline in detail how they proposed to...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (19 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The National Council for Special Education — NCSE — has been 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...