Results 11,701-11,720 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are available on my Department's website. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them,...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are available on my Department's website. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them,...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may already be aware, I plan to introduce a single unified scheme of maintenance grants for students and to consolidate the administration of this unified grants scheme in the VEC sector. This will, I believe, provide for a more coherent administrative system. The scheme, which will be underpinned by a new Student Support Bill, will facilitate consistency of application,...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: My Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the Higher Education Grants Scheme, the Vocational Education Committees' Scholarships Scheme, the Third Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees and the Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students attending Post Leaving Certificate Courses. The Higher Education Grants Scheme is...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all children, including those with autism, receive an education appropriate to their needs. With regard to specific provision for children with autism, the Government believes that as each child with autism is unique; such children should have access to a range of different interventions to meet their individual needs. Applied...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I understand the Deputy is asking about eligibility for a grant under the maintenance grant schemes rather than eligibility to attend a course. My Departments Maintenance Grants Schemes, which are assessed by the relevant Local Authority or the local VEC's, define a mature student to mean a person of not less than 23 years of age, on the 1st day of January in the year of entry to an approved...

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Ba mhaith liom a bhua sa toghchán a thréaslú leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis na Seanadoirí a labhair anseo inniu. I note that of the 14 Senators who spoke on this topic, 12 are newly elected which augurs well for future debates on education. I thank them all for their interest and welcome them to the Houses of the Oireachtas. I thank them also for affording me the opportunity to...

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I do not see the need for another forum just to bring people together to talk, when we have plenty of ways of ensuring everybody's voice is heard. The important thing is to continue to move forward. The Government is investing €4.5 billion in school buildings under the national development plan to ensure we have sufficient places for children of schoolgoing age. We are very conscious of...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations. I can inform the Deputy that the Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118, 126 and 127 together. The Property Management Section of the Office of Public Works, which generally acts on behalf of the Department in relation to site acquisitions, was asked to source a site for the school to which the Deputies refer. A number of site options have emerged and the Department is currently examining a report from the OPW which identifies...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department has acknowledged the need to relocate the existing primary school referred to by the Deputy to a green-field site. The acquisition of a site for this development is being actively pursued with South Dublin County Council and the relevant landowners. When this matter has been finalised, progress on the proposed project can be considered in the context of the School Building...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The scheme to which the Deputy refers is an Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) pilot scheme which is funded by my Department. My Department has received 12 applications for inclusion in this scheme. With regard to specific provision for children with autism, the Government believes that as each child with autism is unique; such children should have access to a range of different...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 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, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. I understand that the National Council for Special Education received a number of applications for resource teaching support...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The school referred to by the Deputy originally applied for an extension and refurbishment to provide for improved ancillary accommodation, such as a General Purpose Room, a Multi-purpose/Staff Room, a Remedial Room and a General Office. The project proposed did not include additional mainstream classrooms and having regard to competing demands on the building programme the application was...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to facilitate the provision of 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. Further detail on the tutor in question is...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions, has secured a site for the provision of a new school. The building programme required to deliver the new school building will be considered in the context of the multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension has been received from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. An assessment of projected enrolment trends, demographic trends and housing developments in the area is currently underway in order to determine the long term projected staffing figure on which the school's accommodation needs will be based. Once the...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (16 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Among the recommendations contained in the Music Network report was that a series of Music Education Partnerships would be developed between the County/City Development Boards and the Vocational Education Committees on a phased basis. In 2004, my Department began funding a pilot programme in both Dublin City and in Donegal VECs to test approaches to delivery of the proposed model. Resources...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (16 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that the Department is in receipt of an application for a new school building from the management authority of the school to which the Deputy refers. This application has been assessed in accordance with the Department's published prioritisation criteria for large scale works. Progress on the proposed works will be considered in the context of the multi-annual school building...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (16 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Tenders for the first bundle of schools to be built under my Department's current Public Private Partnership programme consisting of four schools including the school in question were returned to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) in July 2007 and the tender evaluation process has been completed. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Macquarie Partnerships for Ireland have been...