Results 921-940 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A report on this case has been requested from Bus Éireann. The family concerned will be advised of the position when the report has been received and assessed.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in regard to site acquisitions generally, is currently exploring the possibility of acquiring a site for the school to which the Deputy refers. Due to the commercial sensitivities of site acquisitions, it is not proposed at this stage to identify specific sites to be acquired. This...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for temporary accommodation has been received from the school authority to which the Deputy refers. All applications for temporary accommodation for the 2005-06 school year are being assessed by reference to the published criteria, in the school planning section of my Department. I intend to publish a list of the successful applicants soon. The school has also applied for a...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The pupils to whom the Deputy refers live one mile from the route of service to the post-primary centre in question. My Department is satisfied that they have a level of service within guidelines, and therefore an extension of service is not warranted in this case. As a rule post-primary school transport routes are planned so that, as far as possible, no eligible child will have more than two...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the contents of the letter referred to by the Deputy. I have made arrangements to have a response to the matters raised issued directly to the author.

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I met the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, shortly after I received the correspondence in question, to discuss, among other things, the matters referred to by the Deputy. Although the matters were fully discussed at our meeting when I made the USI aware of my position, a formal response to the correspondence will issue to the USI shortly. I will...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The lands at Beechpark Avenue are owned by my Department and were purchased to provide educational facilities. Planning permission has been obtained and that this project is scheduled to proceed to tender and construction within the next 12 to 15 months. It is envisaged that the construction period will be about 12 months from the date the project commences on site. I intend to put in place a...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department has acquired a site for the provision of a new school in Ballytarsna, Cashel, County Tipperary. The building project has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which were revised following consultation with the education partners, and its progress is being considered in the context of the school building programme.In...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has taken over responsibility for processing resource applications for children with disabilities who have special educational needs and in particular it is responsible for the following: deciding on applications for resource teaching hours in respect of children with low incidence disabilities with special educational...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Following is the information requested by the Deputy in the form of a spreadsheet. The schools listed as NEPS schools have NEPS psychologists assigned to them and have access to the full NEPS service. All schools that do not yet have access to the NEPS service may avail of the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments. Details of this have been notified to all schools and appear upon...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Provision of individual psychological assessments is part of the work of the educational psychologists in the national educational psychological service. The psychologists do not keep waiting lists of children requiring assessment in the sense of lists of names that are dealt with in chronological order. School authorities refer children for assessment and discuss the relative urgency of each...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department received an application to establish an autistic class from the school in question on 20 December 2004. My officials are liaising with the national educational psychological service regarding the application. A decision will be conveyed to the school as soon as this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works a grant of €350,000 was sanctioned to enable the management authorities of the school in question to provide additional accommodation. The initiative allows boards of management to address their accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives boards of management control of...

Written Answers — European Year of Citizenship: European Year of Citizenship (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Council of Europe launched the 2005 European Year of Citizenship through Education last December. In organising this year, the Council of Europe aims to draw attention to the importance of education in the development of citizenship and the quality of participation in a democratic society. The year will first and foremost be aimed at reaching education policy deciders, multipliers and...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As I advised the Deputy in my reply to him in this matter in a parliamentary question on 8 February 2005, the service for which recognition is being sought by the person in question was given in a private second level school that is not recognised by my Department and such service does not qualify for the award of incremental credit within the terms of the agreed report of the Teachers'...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An extension project at the school to which the Deputy refers has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which was revised following consultation with the education partners and the project is being considered for the 2005 school building programme. The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced the first phase of the 2005 school building programme which...

Written Answers — Sport and Recreational Development: Sport and Recreational Development (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There is no assistance available within my Department for the training and organisation of chess playing by school pupils.

Written Answers — Asbestos Remediation Programme: Asbestos Remediation Programme (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Since the commencement of the asbestos management programme in schools in 1999, almost 2,800 out of approximately 4,000 primary and post-primary schools have been surveyed by the Office of Public Works to determine the location, type, form and condition of any asbestos materials present. Works identified as necessary, have either been completed, are in hands or are programmed over the coming...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 479, 480 and 487 together. Significant improvements have been made in the reduction in primary school class sizes in recent years. The average class size at primary level is now 23.9, down from 26.6 in 1996-97. The pupil-teacher ratio, which includes all the teachers in the school, including resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2 to one in the 1996-97 school...

Written Answers — Teacher Induction Courses: Teacher Induction Courses (15 Feb 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The national pilot project for teacher induction, which commenced in September 2002, has been developed by my Department in conjunction with the standing committee of teacher unions and university education departments. The general aim of the project is to develop proposals for an effective programme of induction for newly qualified teachers at primary and post-primary levels tailored to...