Results 7,421-7,440 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

School Staffing. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Based on the figures provided by the Deputy, it is three teachers for 210 pupils, which does not come out at 110 each. Second, the Deputy should acknowledge that the provision of 800 teachers whose sole responsibility is teaching English to non-national children is a significant investment. That investment has grown substantially in recent years. I hope the acceptance and approval of the...

Garda Vetting Services. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: It is a very fine town.

Education Welfare Service. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 54, 84 and 94 together. The National Educational Welfare Board, NEWB, was established under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework to promote regular school attendance and tackle the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general...

Education Welfare Service. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The educational welfare officer should be the last port of call. It is only when a case has been dealt with by all the other bodies in respect of a particular child that the educational welfare officer should be called. That would allow them to look at the general position. A substantial number of groups have a direct involvement with the child and his or her family but it would not be...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: This is aimed at Deputy English.

Institutes of Technology Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I move amendment No. 55: In page 23, to delete line 41 and substitute the following: "disadvantaged persons, by persons who have a disability and by persons".

Institutes of Technology Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I move amendment No. 62: In page 27, line 46, after "be" to insert ", but not later than 3 months,".

Institutes of Technology Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I move amendment No. 64: In page 29, line 38, after "practicable" to insert "but not later than 12 months". The purpose of this amendment is to place a duty on the governing body of the Dublin Institute of Technology, DIT, to direct its president to prepare a strategic development plan within 12 months of this section's commencement. On Committee Stage I agreed to an identical amendment put...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 38 together. Student practical work has been a major feature of science syllabi at both junior and senior cycle levels for many years and science teachers have long experience of carrying out programmes of practical work with their students. Up until now, this practical work has been assessed through the medium of written papers in the Certificate...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As I have told the House before, I am acutely aware that west Dublin — Dublin 15 in particular — is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the country and, that as a result, there has been a marked increase in the demand for primary school places. I have also outlined the significant interventions being made by my Department to tackle this issue. These include measures to increase...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 132, 763 and 772 together. 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. A number of these posts are filled on a work-sharing basis. The Public Appointments Service recently concluded a new recruitment competition for the...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I share the Deputy's concern that any child would feel upset in school because of bullying — be it physical, verbal or cyber and I assure him that supports are in place to enable schools both to prevent bullying and to deal with cases that may arise. For a start, each school is required to have in place a policy which includes specific measures to deal with bullying behaviour, within the...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The assessment of Irish for the Junior Certificate includes provision for an optional Oral examination which is conducted by the class teacher in accordance with guidelines issued by the State Examinations Commission. The decision on whether, or not, to avail of this option is taken at school level. In 2005, some 339 candidates in 13 schools took the optional Oral examination in Irish. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 129 together. My Department continues to urge the management authorities of both primary and second level schools to put in place book rental schemes, at both primary and post-primary level, to the greatest extent possible. At primary level schools that opt for book rental schemes are allocated enhanced grants to encourage them to participate in such...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 68 together. The Report of the Task Force of Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools, launched in March of this year, recommended that section 29 of the Education Act be amended to stress the rights of the compliant majority to learn while at the same time protecting the rights of the persistently disruptive student to an education. The Task Force...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The issues raised in cases of this nature are often particular to the school and to the manner in which the Board of Management and the Principal have discharged their duties under the Education Act 1998 and Education (Welfare) Act 2000 rather than matters arising in respect of the guidelines and circulars issued by the Department of Education and Science. However, there were three recent...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: On 30 January this year, I laid new regulations on the publication of school reports before the House. In accordance with the regulations, all reports arising from general inspections of schools will be published where evaluation work commenced on or after 6 February 2006. It is planned to conduct 273 WSE evaluations in primary and post-primary schools in 2006. Reports arising from 225 of...

Written Answers — Early Childhood Education: Early Childhood Education (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 112 together. The Early Start pre-school project operates in 40 primary schools in designated areas of urban disadvantage in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Drogheda and Dundalk. There are 1,680 places in these centres. Targeted early childhood education provision is a key element of the School Support Programme (SSP) under the new action...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Teacher Education Section of my Department is currently developing a new model of support for the provision of training for Boards of Management on a range of issues. My Department provides support to Board of Managements for the professional development of their members, through the Education Centre Network and directly to the school Management Bodies, in order to ensure that they can...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (4 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A totally new format of Subject Inspection was introduced for post-primary schools in September 2001. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of Subject Inspections carried out each year. In particular, from 2003 onwards inspection activity at post-primary level increased very significantly following the recruitment of new post-primary inspectors to replace those assigned...