Results 11,261-11,280 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Confidence in Taoiseach: Motion (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: It is a case of people choosing what they want to hear, picking snippets of evidence and ensuring they become judge and jury. We know that the Taoiseach is a man of great credibility

Confidence in Taoiseach: Motion (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I am proud to be Minister for Education and Science.

Confidence in Taoiseach: Motion (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I uphold the highest standards of integrity, as I have always done and as my colleagues do. We will always ensure integrity, the backbone of what my colleagues and I stand for, is the basis of our lives in public office. In his role as Taoiseach Deputy Bertie Ahern is a man of credibility, has provided great leadership and is a man in whom the Fianna Fáil Party, the Government and I have...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: A request was been received by my Department in June 2007 for sanction to employ two additional staff for the Grangegorman Development Agency. Sanction for the allocation of the two additional staff has been agreed in principle with grading still under discussion.

Written Answers — Physiotherapy Services: Physiotherapy Services (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The full cost of training 150 physiotherapists over a four year period is estimated at €7.4m. There has been a growing demand for, and investment in, physiotherapy services over the last number of years. A particular priority for the Department of Health & Children and my Department has been the expansion of the supply of physiotherapy graduates and, in this regard, training places have...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 674 and 792 together. I am aware of the situation to which the Deputies refer. However, the use of school property not owned by the State is entirely a matter for a Board of Management and the Patron. The only concern for the Department is to ensure that any non-mainstream school usage of the school premises does not impede the delivery of the curriculum.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Discussions are ongoing with the authorities of the schools to which the Deputy refers in relation to their long term accommodation needs. As part of this process, meetings have also taken place with both Kildare County Council and Athy Town Council with a view to ensuring that the appropriate level of educational provision is made in the context of planned housing developments. The...

Written Answers — Research Funding: Research Funding (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the 2006 Budget a multi-annual Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) was announced with an allocation of €300 million over the five year period 2006 to 2010. This was subsequently extended to €510 million under the National Development Plan. The Fund is intended to be a major catalyst in bringing about substantial change and quality improvement in our higher education institutions...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary level in recent years. There are now 5,000 more primary teachers than there were in 2002. By the 2006/07 school year, we had reduced the average class size in our primary schools to 24, while the pupil teacher ratio was 16.4:1, including resource teachers etc. In that year, schools were staffed on the basis...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: A key focus of the Government's education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. The wide variety of measures in place for tackling educational disadvantage and social exclusion reflect these concerns. These measures include preschool interventions, supports...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The level of resources being made available by my Department to support students with special educational needs has grown significantly in recent years. A significant development is the establishment of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which has been in operation since 1 January 2005 with over 90 members of staff working exclusively in supporting students with special...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: During the period of the last National Development Plan 2000-2006 my Department accelerated the school building programme with record levels of investment and the streamlining of delivery systems. An aggregate total of well over €2.6 billion was invested in upgrading existing school infrastructure and providing new school accommodation at both first and second-level. This was the largest...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 681 and 682 together. The site to which the Deputy refers has been reserved for educational purposes and it is the Department's intention to purchase this to address, in part, the long term primary school accommodation needs in Greystones. Due to the commercial sensitivities attaching to site acquisitions, I am not in a position to comment further on the...

Written Answers — Multi-Denominational Schools: Multi-Denominational Schools (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department established a further multi-denominational school to serve the Lucan area in September of this year. This school is temporarily located in a new school building in Adamstown. It is intended to re-locate this school to Lucan once a suitable site has been acquired. The Department is in discussion with the local authority in relation to this issue. With regard to the Balgaddy...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is keenly aware of the need to provide a site as quickly as possible for the school to which the Deputy refers and it is in consultation with the local authority in relation to this matter. The question of a compulsory purchase order does not, therefore, arise at this time. Generally, however, the Department will be asking local authorities to use the CPO mechanism for land...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, agreement has been reached between the trustees of the three existing post-primary schools to amalgamate into a single school. The Property Management Section of the Office of Public Works was requested to source a site for the development referred to by the Deputy. In answer to an advertisement and subsequently, a number of sites were identified and examined. Those...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENO), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. I understand that the parents of the child in question is currently liaising with the relevant SENO in this regard and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government commits to the long-term funding for the centres that are currently in the ABA pilot scheme subject to agreement with my Department on standards that will enable the Department to support them as primary schools for children with autism. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that discussions are underway in relation to this matter and I...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 688 and 700 together. My officials have been in contact with the National Council for Special Education and I understand that the application on behalf of the pupil in question did not meet the criteria for individual resource hours under Specific Speech and Language Disorder. However, the pupil will have access to support from the school's learning...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (26 Sep 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I welcome that students in our primary and secondary schools have opportunities to explore the original meaning of Irish place names (logainmneacha). It is clear that this exploration benefits students linguistically and culturally as well as giving them a greater appreciation of the past and the environment. The primary curriculum for Irish includes the exploration of place names and their...