Results 7,721-7,740 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department provides a range of supports to second level school management to enable schools to cater for pupils with special educational needs. The supports in question include remedial and additional teaching support, special needs assistant support and funding for the purchase of specialised equipment. There has been enormous progress made over the past number of years in relation to...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information sought in relation to numbers of assessments is not readily available on a per county basis from the records of my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). However, this information is being collated at present as part of a general review of information systems in NEPS and I shall provide the Deputy with a copy of the information when it becomes...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 707 and 713 together. Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the board of management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. In general, the Board has the responsibility to ensure that the school operates efficiently and effectively and also has responsibilities in relation to the action of its employees. The board, as manager of...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The cumulative value of advertising placed by my Department in print media in each of the years sinces 2002 was as follows: Year € 2006 (to end June) 426,000 2005 504,000 2004 790,000 2003 416,000 2002 1,007,000 A breakdown of the type of advertising placed is not readily available in my Department. Additionally my Department spent the following sums on media...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The position in the case to which the Deputy refers is as set out in my reply on this same matter to the Deputy on 25 April 2006. I am not in a position to alter the decision of an independent statutory body, the Registration Council.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The proposed refurbishment and extension project for the School referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning. Additional Stage 2 (Sketch Scheme) documentation was requested from the school authorities and is currently being examined by the Technical Staff in my Department. Department officials will be in contact with the school authorities when this examination has...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works, a grant of €150,000 was sanctioned in March 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...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department intends to permanently accommodate the school to which he refers in a building which it expects to be vacated post an amalgamation of three other schools. The Boards of Management of these schools recently sent a proposal to my Department in relation to its requirements to effect the amalgamation. This is being examined in School Planning Section and...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has provided nine dual use halls with enhanced facilities, attached to post-primary schools. Eight of the halls, including the hall referred to by the Deputy, are in Dublin and one is in Cork. The halls in question have been built as part of a joint programme to develop community sports facilities in drugs task force areas. At present, issues relating to the funding, management...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There are two primary school in the Carrigtwohill area — a boys' and a girls' primary school. The Patron of both schools has advised that both boards of management have agreed to amalgamate the schools. In order to determine the accommodation requirements of the amalgamated school the long term projected staffing on which the accommodation needs will be based, has to be determined....

Written Answers — After School Care: After School Care (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I believe that school facilities should be available to the community outside of school hours — whether for childcare, for adult education courses or as somewhere for local community groups to meet — provided this is feasible. Indeed, my Department issued a circular to the trustees, boards of management and principals of primary and voluntary secondary schools in March 2005 encouraging...

Written Answers — Early School Leavers: Early School Leavers (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As I indicated to the Deputy in the Dáil last night the School Completion Programme is a very successful programme targeted at children and young people who are at risk of early school leaving. It is targeted at those in danger of dropping out of the education system or those who may have already dropped out. It is a broadly based programme which is cross-community and cross-sectoral. It...

Written Answers — Early School Leavers: Early School Leavers (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The objective of the School Completion Programme is to provide a range of interventions in areas of disadvantage that support the retention of young people in education. It is based on the project model of an integrated approach involving primary and post primary schools, parents, relevant statutory, voluntary and community agencies. The programme is funded on a multi-annual basis under the...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 719 and 721 together. An application for palisade fencing to secure the sports area of the school to which the Deputy refers has been approved for funding and the works are due to commence shortly. The provision of netting was not included.

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (6 Jul 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 — School Staffing: School Staffing (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: In the current school year, of the 1749 permanent and temporary qualified teachers appointed for the first time at primary level, 189 are male. 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 that it is important to attract more men into teaching for a number of reasons, not least of which is the positive...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Following a fire at the school to which the Deputy refers, the insurance proceeds were used by the management authority for the rental and installation of a significant amount of temporary accommodation, re-instatement works and for the upgrading of external areas. The temporary accommodation in question is of a very high quality and has a long life span. Consequently, the Department...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 Jul 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There is an open and transparent process in place for the recognition of new primary schools. As part of the process, the New Schools Advisory Committee (NSAC), which is an independent body, assesses all applications for recognition against published criteria. These criteria include: There must be evidence that: The proposed school meets a need that cannot reasonably be met within existing...

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

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1222, 1223 and 1294 together. Under the terms of my Department's third level maintenance grants schemes, grant assistance is available to eligible students attending approved third level courses in approved institutions. An approved course for the purpose of the schemes means a full-time undergraduate course of not less than two years duration and a full time...

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

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1224 and 1225 together. Special needs assistant (SNA) support is provided specifically to address the care needs of pupils with special educational needs. The nature and level of support provided is based on the assessed needs of the individual child having regard to the criteria set out in my Department's circulars. The Deputy will be...