Results 8,081-8,100 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (12 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 she refers. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale projects and has been assigned a Band 2 rating. Progress on the proposed works is being considered in the context of...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (12 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: For the purposes of determining grant eligibility under my Department's Maintenance Grants Schemes, all investments must be declared, including deposit accounts, savings certificates, life assurance bonds and other financial instruments where the interest/profit is accumulated and paid out as a lump sum at the end of the investment period. The amount of income to be included in respect of...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 499 and 532 together. I have no plans to introduce driver education, in the form of driving lessons, in schools, and this is not the norm within the EU. As the Deputy may be aware, a report produced for the NCCA by an expert group which included representatives of the National Safety Council, the Garda Síochána, the Irish Insurance Federation, and the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is in liaison with the school in question regarding the delivery of the project on a devolved basis under the Small Schools Scheme.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 501 and 549 together. 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,...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The large scale building project for the school referred to by the Deputy was one of the projects I announced in 2005 for proceeding to tender and construction over a 12 to 15 month period. Officials in my Department are currently in the process of arranging a meeting with the school and their Design Team to discuss the revised Stage 3 submission (Developed Sketch Scheme). When my officials...

Written Answers — Educational Projects: Educational Projects (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 503 and 515 together. Meetings are continuing at an official level between my Department, the Department of Health and Children, the Higher Education Authority and the Health Service Executive in relation to a proposed School of Podiatry. Pending the finalisation of these discussions it is not possible to advise when a call for proposals to establish the...

Written Answers — Education Grants: Education Grants (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 504 and 505 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that the information regarding the number of home tuition grants applied for and approved and drawn each year since 2000 to date in 2006 is not readily available in my Department. However I can confirm that officials in my Department has recently revised procedures to ensure that this information will be...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 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 Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 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 asked to source a site for a particular school in the Edmonsbury area of Lucan. In addition, my Department is actively considering the issue of whether to formally request the local authority to consider the use of their compulsory purchase...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The school to which the Deputy refers commenced operation in September 2002 with provisional recognition from the Department on the basis that it would be providing multi-denominational education in the Clontarf/Marino/ Fairview area of Dublin. It is a condition of recognition that the Patron must provide suitable accommodation in the stated area which must be capable of meeting the growing...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 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 — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There has been no delay in the establishment of the Grangegorman Development Agency. I announced earlier this year the appointment of Mr. John Fitzgerald as Chairperson of the Agency and I am now actively considering the other appointments to the Agency. However, a number of necessary measures have to be in place to allow the work of the Agency to function properly such as the location of...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The latest figures available to my Department indicate that there are in excess of 22,000 children of immigrants enrolled at primary level and in excess of 12,000 at post-primary level. My Department does not keep statistics relating to the residency status of the parents of these children. Figures are not available at third-level. In order to ensure that children who do not have English or...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There has been substantial progress made in the funding of our schools since 2003, the financial year indicated in the OECD Report referred to be the Deputy. Spending by my Department on second level education increased by 17% between 2003 and 2005. In 2005 €2.7 billion was spent on second-level education — up from €2.3 billion in 2003 and €1.25 billion in 1997. These increases have...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has given a very high priority to the provision of resources to address the learning difficulties of children with low levels of achievement in reading. As the Deputy is aware, my Department implemented a general allocation system in all primary schools with effect from the start of the 2005/2006 school year. The general allocation scheme is designed to ensure that each school...

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of grants schemes administered by the VECs on behalf of my Department, 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 age, residence, means, nationality and previous academic attainment. The candidate's reckonable income for the purposes of the...

Written Answers — Special Savings Incentive Scheme: Special Savings Incentive Scheme (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Since SSIAs were introduced, the amount of income to be included in respect of them is the government grant earned on the savings in the relevant tax year plus, in the case of savings accounts, the gross interest earned in the relevant tax year, and, in the case of investment accounts, the investment profit earned in the relevant tax year. Investment losses sustained in the relevant tax year...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517, 524 and 530 together. The Department acknowledges the need for a permanent solution to meet the long term accommodation needs of the school to which the Deputy's refer. 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...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications for special educational needs (SEN) supports from primary and post primary schools. The teaching and special needs assistant (SNA) support allocated are intended to enable schools to meet the needs of...