Results 381-400 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: My Department awaits the submission of an application for a grant in respect of the equipment for the person referred to by the Deputy. I have asked my officials to contact the school authorities regarding this matter, with a view to the speedy resolution of same.
- Written Answers — School Closures: School Closures (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: A decision has been taken by the trustees of the school referred to by the Deputy that it will close in June 2007. Given the pattern of falling enrolments at the school, together with surplus capacity in the general area, my Department concurs with the trustees' decision. I am satisfied there is sufficient capacity in post-primary schools in the area to cater for children who would otherwise...
- Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: My Department has been engaged in an overall review of its educational disadvantage programmes, with a view to building on what has been achieved to date, adopting a more systematic, targeted and integrated approach and strengthening the capacity of the system to meet the educational needs of disadvantaged children and young people. A decision to expand or extend any of the initiatives aimed...
- Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary and post-primary level in a given area entails consideration by my Department of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. This process includes obtaining information regarding the number of...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: My Department does not provide student accommodation or direct financial assistance for the provision of such accommodation. In recognition of the difficulties students can experience in obtaining accommodation and following consultation with third level colleges, a special tax incentive was introduced to encourage the provision of dedicated student residential accommodation in section 50 of...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The property management section of the OPW, which acts on behalf of my Department on site acquisitions generally, is exploring the possibility of acquiring a site for the school referred to by the Deputy. Due to the commercial sensitivities of site acquisitions, it is not proposed at this stage to identify specific sites to be acquired. However, this information will be placed on my...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: A number of schemes are funded by my Department from which school building repair projects can be addressed. Under the grant scheme for minor works to national school properties, which came into operation in January 1997, all national schools receive funding annually. Items such as the replacement of windows, roof repairs, re-surfacing of school yard, re-painting and re-decorating qualify as...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the concerns raised in the letter regarding the impact that the proposed model for allocating resource teachers to primary schools will have on the school in question. The school has two full-time resource teaching posts, one full-time learning support post and approximately 12.5 part-time resource teaching hours. I am conscious of difficulties that could arise regarding the...
- Written Answers — Suicide Prevention: Suicide Prevention (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the serious problem of youth suicide and of the need for a co-ordinated response to this difficult issue. My Department is represented on a national steering group, which is preparing a national strategy for action on suicide prevention. A number of Departments and interested bodies are also represented on this steering group, which is also supported by a technical advisory...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The issues of behaviour, youth suicide, and discipline are so complex that they are unlikely to be addressed by the introduction of one particular kind of professional intervention. The problems need to be addressed at whole school, class and individual pupil levels, as well as by collaborative interventions in the wider education, health, justice and welfare systems to ensure easy access to...
- Written Answers — Suicide Prevention: Suicide Prevention (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the contents of this letter, which outlines details of a particular case and also makes suggestions about a strategic approach aimed at dealing with emotional disturbance, thus preventing suicide. Schools faced with an emergency situation have access to advice from the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. NEPS published a school handbook on responding to critical...
- Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: My Department's commitment to quality customer service includes the commitment to maximise the use of technology to improve service delivery. Within the planning and building unit of my Department, the Internet is used as the predominant mechanism for disseminating information to schools on a range of relevant matters and issues. The unit has not received substantive complaints regarding this...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: An application from the school in County Cavan referred to by the Deputy is being considered as part of a review of all projects which did not proceed to construction as part of the 2004 school building programme. All projects are being assessed against the published prioritisation criteria, revised earlier this year following consultation with the education partners. Each project will be...
- Written Answers — Institutes of Technology: Institutes of Technology (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The Government has committed â¬698 million to the education sector for research, technology, innovation and development under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. Some â¬38 million of this has been specifically allocated to institutes of technology under the technological sector research sub-measure. The objective of providing this specific funding for institutes of technology is to...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that my Department has considered an application for a special needs assistant, SNA, for the pupil in question. The process included a visit to the school by my Department's inspectorate. The staffing level at the school consists of ten teaching posts and 16 SNAs and the current enrolment is 53. My Department's advice is that the school should deploy its existing SNA support in...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The position is that none of the third level student support schemes operated under the aegis of the Department extend to undergraduate courses outside the European Union. Apart from the funds provided specifically for the purposes of the third level student support schemes, there are no other moneys at the disposal of the Department of Education and Science out of which financial assistance...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: The higher education grant schemes operate under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992. These Acts define a mature student to mean a person "of not less than 23 years of age, or such age as may stand specified for the time being in regulations made by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, who have secured places in approved institutions and...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 487, 552, 586, 587, 589, 591, 593, 595, 599 and 600 together. My Department has no record of an application for capital funding from the schools referred to by the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 488, 489, 490, 492, 493, 495, 497, 498, 500, 504, 512, 520, 522, 523, 526, 529, 532, 538, 539 and 540 together. My Department has no record of an application for capital funding from the schools referred to by the Deputy. However, school planning section officials are in ongoing discussions with the trustees of a number of schools in Portlaoise regarding...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2004)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 491, 494, 496, 501 to 503, inclusive 506, 508, 509, 525, 527, 528, 534, 536, 543, 547, 548, 549, 561 and 583 together. Applications for capital funding have been received from the schools referred to by the Deputy. These applications are being considered as part of a review of all projects which did not proceed to construction as part of the 2004 school...