Results 4,901-4,920 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Traveller Education: Traveller Education (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: It is important, from the outset, to emphasise that the Traveller community is entitled to the same education provision as all others. The needs of the Traveller community are a high priority for me and my Department. My Department provides additional resources to enhance the education of Traveller children. In 2003-04 my Department spent over €47 million on Traveller education over and...

Written Answers — Recruitment of Teachers: Recruitment of Teachers (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 83 and 106 together. I am aware of the decreasing numbers of males entering the teaching profession and it is an issue that is of concern to me. I believe it is important to attract more men into teaching for a number of reasons, not least of which is the positive role models that teachers provide in children's lives and the desirability of having both...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The national youth work development plan, together with the Youth Work Act 2001, provides a framework for youth work in Ireland. The plan identifies four main goals and proposes some 50 action points to achieve these goals over a five year period. To date a number of priority action areas have been addressed, including the implementation of a child protection training programme for the...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 31 together. The Youth Work Act 2001 provides a legal framework for the provision of youth work programmes and services to be organised by the Minister for Education and Science, the vocational education committees and national and regional youth work organisations. Section 1 of the Act provides for sections to be commenced at different stages. Sections...

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Residential Institutions Redress Board is an independent body established under statute in December 2002 to provide financial redress to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in industrial schools, reformatories or other institutions that were subject to State regulation or inspection. According to the most recent figures available to my Department, the board had on 9...

Written Answers — Vetting Procedures: Vetting Procedures (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 30, 36, 82 and 109 together. Ensuring the protection, health and welfare of children is a key concern for the Government, for parents, for agencies that work with children and for society generally and the Government is determined to do all it can to keep our children and vulnerable adults safe. In the education sector, vetting is available in respect of...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 35, 42, 47, 71, 73 and 75 together. Catchment boundaries have their origins in the establishment of free post-primary education in the late 1960s and were determined following consultation with local educational interests. For planning purposes the country was divided into geographical districts each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 66 together. In accordance with the rules and programme for secondary schools, the approved course for the established leaving certificate must include not less than five approved examination subjects, of which one must be Irish. The exception to this is where a student has been granted an exemption from the study of Irish. The rules and programme for...

Written Answers — Area Development Plans: Area Development Plans (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I have recently announced the carrying out of an area development plan for Limerick city and its environs. This will cover educational provision in the city and surrounding area factoring in the existing education provision in Shannon, Askeaton, Pallaskenry, Croom and Newport. This new model for planning for educational infrastructure is designed to ensure that, in future, school provision...

Written Answers — Child Sexual Abuse: Child Sexual Abuse (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 55 and 308 together. The Ferns Report provides practical and far reaching recommendations to strengthen child protection measures in organisations working with children and to ensure a speedy and effective response to allegations of abuse. The Government has accepted the report's recommendations in principle and is committed to their implementation by...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has provided in excess of €5.5 million in grant aid to primary schools to enable them to provide coaching, mentoring or purchase resource materials and equipment associated with the provision of physical education. Materials and equipment purchased by schools in previous years will generally be available to them for subsequent years. In addition, schools may use their general...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has acknowledged the need for a replacement building to meet the future needs of the school referred to by the Deputy. It has also been established that the present site is unsuitable for further development. Therefore, prior to any progress being made on a building project for the school, a suitable site must be identified. The board of management had previously indicated to my...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: All primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments, either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, or through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, SCPA, full details of which are available on my Department's website. In common with many other psychological services, NEPS operates a staged model of service to schools,...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 78 together. A key element of DEIS, delivering equality of opportunity in schools, the new action plan for educational inclusion, is the putting in place of a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage in our primary and second level schools for the purposes of qualifying for resources, both human and financial, according to the degree...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (15 Dec 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. Pupils who live 4.8 kilometres or more from the post-primary centre serving the catchment area in which they reside are eligible for transport to that centre under the scheme. The scheme is not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send...

Written Answers — Disruptive Students: Disruptive Students (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46 and 84 together. The Deputies will be aware that, at the start of this year, I established a task force on student behaviour in second level schools. I have been particularly impressed with the ability of the task force to focus on the core issues. The task force has indicated to me that it is on target to produce a final report and detailed...

Written Answers — Education Welfare Service: Education Welfare Service (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 established the National Educational Welfare Board as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general functions of the board are to ensure that each child attends a recognised school...

Written Answers — Multi-Denominational Schools: Multi-Denominational Schools (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The number of multi-denominational schools established in this country to date is 39. A list of multi- and other denominational schools, together with addresses and contact numbers, is available on my Department's website www.education.ie.

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, has been allocated funding of €15.325 million in the 2006 financial provision for my Department in the recently published Abridged Estimates Volume. This represents an increase of approximately €1 million, 8%, over the projected outturn for this service in 2005.

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (15 Dec 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Provision exists for an optional oral examination in Irish at junior certificate level. Where schools opt to provide such an examination, the State examinations commission issues assessment guidelines to them for use by class teachers in assessing candidates. The optional oral Irish examination at junior certificate level is not assessed by the State examinations commission but by class...