Results 7,321-7,340 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 509 together. I expect that the 2006 student support schemes will be issued shortly. The application forms and notes for the 2006/07 academic year has issued both electronically and in hard copy to the awarding bodies and the forms and notes are also available on the Department's website at www.education.ie.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works, a grant of €440,000 was sanctioned in 2005 to enable the management authorities of the school in question to extend and refurbish their school. Devolving funding to school management authorities allows them to have control of their projects, assists in moving projects more quickly to tender and construction...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department provides a range of supports to second level schools to enable them to cater for students with special educational needs and this involves a large number of staff. The supports in question include remedial and resource teaching support, special needs assistant support and funding for the purchase of specialised equipment which concerns staff in the National Council for Special...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The position is that the third level student support schemes funded by my Department do not extend to undergraduate courses outside the E.U. There are no monies at the disposal of my Department out of which financial assistance could be made available for study at undergraduate level in the U.S.A. You will appreciate that the Schemes of Student Support must be applied impartially and it is...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The 1999 Primary School Curriculum highlights the role of ICT as a resource which considerably enriches the teaching and learning of different aspects of the curriculum. It also emphasises the potential of ICT as a motivational tool in the classroom. The curriculum documents provide teachers with examples of how they can use ICT in the teaching of the different curricular areas. My Department...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has not been approached by Wicklow County Council for assistance in the establishment of an outreach third level centre at the location referred to by the Deputy in County Wicklow.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A number of factors are taken into account in determining an appropriate size for a primary school classroom such as curricular development, the pupil/teacher ratio and the fact that the number of pupils in a classroom may vary from year to year to take account of departing classes, and new enrolments. In the provision of major extensions/new school buildings it is the current practice of my...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm to the Deputy that the school to which he refers has applied to my Department for two new classrooms. This application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and has been assigned a Band 2 rating. Progress on the project is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme from...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion, provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The School Support Programme will bring together, and build upon, a number of existing interventions in schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage. The process of...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A site has been identified for the school in question and while there are a small number of issues outstanding, these are currently being addressed and are expected to be resolved shortly. Meanwhile, in order to expedite the design process, my Department is replicating an existing design, which has been successfully completed in another location. This should allow for the project to proceed...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Second level pupils with a specific learning disability are normally integrated into mainstream classes. In such situations, they may receive additional tutorial support through the remedial teacher, guidance teacher or subject teacher. Depending on the degree of the condition, they may also be eligible for special arrangements in the Certificate Examinations. There are a total of 532.5...

Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: In May 2002 my Department approved the provision of 175 additional therapy training places to tackle shortages of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists as identified in the report "Current and Future Supply and Demand Conditions in the Labour Market for Certain Professional Therapists", which was undertaken by Dr. Peter Bacon and Associates in 2001. The...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Property Management Section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, has been requested to source a site for the school to which the Deputy refers. When a suitable site has been identified and acquired, the school building project can then be considered for progress in the context of the School Building and...

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of my Department's Free Fees Initiative, tuition fees are payable in respect of eligible EU nationals who have been ordinarily resident in an EU Member State for at least three of the five years preceding entry to their third-level course. This condition applies equally to all EU Nationals, in accordance with a judgement of the European Court of Justice that access to...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The assignment of schools to psychologists in my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is subject to change for a variety of reasons. In the case of the school in question, the change was necessitated by promotion to managerial positions in NEPS. The school may avail of the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA), details of which are...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department provides an annual grant to each of the Post-Primary Managerial Bodies. In 2006, the allocation to the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) will amount to €177,533. My Department does not provide staffing resources to any of the Managerial Bodies, including the IVEA.

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: In the 2005/2006 school year there were 132 gaelscoileanna at primary level with a total enrolment of 24,376 pupils on 30 September 2005.

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is organised on a regional basis. At present, there are ten NEPS regions corresponding roughly to the former Health Board Regions with a Head Office based in Dublin. In the case of NEPS psychologists, travel (including subsistence) expenses, by staff member, are managed on a regional and national basis, and in the case of...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Since the establishment of my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) in 1999, the number of psychologists in the NEPS has increased from 43 to 122 at present — this includes 3 psychologists from the former National Rehabilitation Board (NRB) assigned to work with NEPS and 1 psychologist serving with another Section in my Department. The Public Appointments Service...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (27 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 538, 539 and 545 together. All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) that is administered by NEPS and full details of which are available on my Department's...