Results 9,601-9,620 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: We were asking if children who entered school in those years finished school, whether they reached and completed junior certificate and then leaving certificate. The information I gave today about schools that were in disadvantage schemes retaining their teaching posts, remaining part of the home-school-community liaison scheme and not losing funding should offer comfort to all schools. The...

Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I am satisfied that the Department provides an extensive range of supports for the education of deaf and hearing impaired children. This includes three special schools and ten special classes attached to mainstream schools with a pupil-teacher ratio for these classes of 7:1. In line with the Department's policy that children with special educational needs access appropriate education...

Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I share the Deputy's disappointment that the group failed to reach consensus. However, its members held very entrenched divergent views. It is important that the National Council for Special Education would try to get an overview of the issue bearing in mind these differing views and the research material available. I am not in a position to propose setting targets as each child is very...

Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I hope to receive it in the next few months as the council has been working on the matter.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Increases in our population, including the impact of immigration, are now unquestionably the main drivers of growth in demand for school accommodation. On foot of current and projected demographics, the Department is planning provision for a minimum increase in the national primary school-going population of 100,000 pupils by 2013. The number of extra classrooms that will be needed will...

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I too welcome Deputy Haughey as Minister of State in the Department and I wish him well in his work. I encourage the Deputies opposite to table questions for him the next time we are answering oral questions.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: With the range of options I have outlined, we are satisfied we can make quick progress in building the new schools, particularly in developing areas. This will require us to ensure that much of our funding goes towards those areas in coming years. Having the generic design and repeating models removes all the stages of architectural design, appointment of design teams, etc. I have already...

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I will certainly answer in regard to class size. If anybody in this House wants to tell me that the teachers allocated to schools in the past four years, who could have gone into class size but which we choose to put into special needs and disadvantage, should not have gone there I look forward to hearing from them.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy is the one who talks about the hoary chestnut.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The schedule for teaching is going out this month. There is a further reduction in class size from this September also. In regard to sites, we reached an agreement with Fingal County Council which means we get good value in sites and in return we provide the enhanced community facilities. That is the type of model that can be used.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: That is the type of model that is being rolled out in other counties also.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: There is one other issue. Some of the delays can be attributed to planning objections.

School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: It only takes one person to object for a case to go to An Bord Pleanála. That is one of the reasons for the delays.

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 96 together. The home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement and also to provide early educational...

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Following the review, I am not aware of the individual number of tutors who would qualify. That is the reason parents have been given until the end of this school year to find somebody appropriate. The range of people acceptable is quite broad. Hopefully, those parents will be able to get somebody suitable. In regard to the education of children with autism, significant advances have been...

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: It is our intention to extend a system throughout the country which meets the needs of children but it is not our intention to run parallel systems. Parents of children in mainstream schools also express great satisfaction and particularly parents of children in autistic units. Obviously we have to ensure the needs of individual children are met. Teachers are being trained in PECS, TEACCH...

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The home tuition grant is, after all, an education tuition grant so we feel quite strongly that it is important the people delivering this service are appropriately qualified. This is why, following consultation with people, it was said to be fairly broad in respect of qualifications. It would not be possible to start taking on people just because families were used to them, difficult...

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I am not even sure if a correspondence course would be acceptable. It sets out that it must be an official certificate or diploma course ratified by a university, college or organisation. A short course or certificate is not acceptable. We should remember that the home tuition scheme has been working for many years and people have had no difficulty in getting locally based people who are...

Autism Services. (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: In respect of the autism units which are attached to mainstream schools, the ratio is six children to one teacher and two special needs assistants. This is exactly what is on offer to the Educate Together school in Celbridge. I share the Deputy's annoyance as to why a purpose-built unit for children with autism in this school has not been opened, but the fault does not rest with the...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Disadvantaged children have smaller classes.