Results 8,041-8,060 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I wish to advise the Deputy that the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a variety of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for pupils awaiting a suitable educational placement. As the tuition takes place outside of the school supervision, the...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I take it that the Deputy is referring to the ABACAS autism specific facility, based in Kilnamanagh, that has been established to cater for children on the autistic spectrum on a pilot basis. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has not received a formal request from this centre for additional funding to increase the number of places available for children with autism. Any...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of my Department's Third Level Maintenance Grant Schemes, which are administered on behalf of the Department by the Local Authorities and the Vocational Education Committees, the position is that generally speaking, students who are entering approved courses for the first time are eligible for grants where they satisfy the relevant conditions as to residence, age, means,...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary in recent years. At the beginning of the current school year there are no less than 4000 extra teachers in our primary schools, compared with 2002. The average class size in our primary schools is 24 and there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level. Children with special needs and those from...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of my Department provides an educational psychological service to primary and post primary schools. NEPS also offers support and advice to all schools in the context of traumatic incidents, including suicide. The level of support offered depends on the needs of individual students and the capacity of the school to respond. A school may,...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Department acknowledges the need for a permanent solution to meet the long term accommodation needs of the school to which the Deputy refers. The Department is actively looking at proposals regarding an alternative site for the school. However, due to the sensitivities surrounding site acquisitions, I am unable to comment on specifics at this time.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (11 Oct 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 referred to by the Deputy. On foot of advertising, a number of proposals were received by the OPW. A Technical Assessment has been carried out on all site proposals and OPW are currently awaiting...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that on 03 August 2006 my Department gave devolved authority for the project in question to proceed to Planning Permission and for the preparation of tender documentation. My Department is currently awaiting confirmation from the school that they have completed this process.

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has provided funding in excess of €34m for the construction of 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. ...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (11 Oct 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 — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: With effect from 1 January 2005, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has taken over key functions from my Department in relation to special educational provision. The NCSE was formally established as an independent statutory body on 1 October 2005 under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, 2004. The Council acts under the broad policy direction of my...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm to the Deputy that the Department is in receipt of an application for major capital works from the management authority of the school to which he refers. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and has been assigned a Band 4 rating. Progress on the proposed works is being considered in the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: School Planning Section of my Department is in receipt of an application for the Small Schools Scheme 2007 from the school referred to by the Deputy. The application will be assessed by my officials and publication of the list of successful applicants for the scheme will be published as soon as possible. The closing date for receipt of applications under this devolved scheme is 27 October 2006.

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department set aside a contingency sum each year to deal with emergency works in primary and post-primary schools, including health and safety works. The Planning & Building Unit of my Department has no application to date from the school authority for funding under the Contingency Programme nor for the Rental of Temporary Accommodation on foot of the recent flood damage. Officials of my...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has been in contact with Dublin City Council. I will arrange for a reply to issue to the Deputy when the position has been clarified with the council.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: 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 postgraduate course of not less than one year duration pursued...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application for an extension to the school referred to by the Deputy is currently under consideration in my Department in the context of the overall Building and Modernisation Programme 2006-2010. In view of the overall school enrolments it is open to the school to apply for devolved funding under the Small Schools Scheme 2007. My Department has sent an application to the School Authority...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension has been assessed and the long term projected staffing, on which the accommodation needs will be based, has recently been determined and notified to the school authority. In order to determine how best to provide for the school's accommodation needs into the future, it will be necessary to have a technical assessment of...

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (11 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse was established in 1999 and was subsequently put on a statutory basis under the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000. The terms of reference of the Commission are set out in the 2000 Act as amended by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Act, 2005. The purpose of the Commission is to investigate child abuse in...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (12 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The organisations to decentralise to Edenderry are the Further Education & Training Awards Council, FETAC, the Higher Education & Training Awards Council, HETAC, and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, NQAI. These organisations are State agencies under the aegis of my Department. The overall number of posts involved is in the region of 90. All three agencies are public service...