Results 11,781-11,800 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (17 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 issuing the results of examinations. The number of upgrades awarded in the Leaving Certificate must be looked at in context. In the Leaving Certificate in 2007, there were 53926 candidates, of whom 3056 sat the...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department has no records of the national school to which the Deputy refers. In the circumstances, I assume the Deputy is referring to the application for capital funding towards an extension at the second level school in Loughrea, County Galway. An assessment of projected enrolments, demographic trends and housing developments in the area will be required in order to assist in...

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (17 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Clause 5.4.1 of the 2007 Higher Education Grants Scheme and the Vocational Education Committee's Scholarship Scheme provides for the payment of a grant in respect of the charge for Student Services, Registration and Examinations. Where a candidate qualifies for a maintenance grant and is pursuing an approved course to which the Free Fees Initiative applies or, would have qualified for a...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (17 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Capital funding of some €381,000 was expended by my Department on the project in question. I am advised that County Mayo VEC is conducting an evaluation of all VEC lands and property, and the plans for the land in question will be considered as part of this evaluation.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the process of appointing a Design Team for the school building project he refers to is at an advanced stage. Tender documents are currently being assessed by my Department's technical team. When this assessment is completed, a number of documents will be requested from the preferred consultants namely, Tax Clearance Certificate, evidence of Certified...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (17 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: A total of 125 officers employed by my Department in Dublin are assigned to posts in Dublin in which they will decentralise to Mullingar, Athlone or Tullamore. Thirty nine of these officers are committed to decentralise as a condition of their recruitment or promotion. The figures for the agencies under the aegis of my Department that are scheduled to decentralise are not to hand but I will...

School Staffing. (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and thank the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and Deputy Andrews for being present. As noted by Deputy Quinn, I met the school principal in the forecourt of the girls school, which I was visiting, and he outlined the situation raised by Deputy Quinn, namely, that new students will be arriving at the school. The school is part of the Delivering Equality of...

School Staffing. (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: There has to be. It works on the following basis. There are 4,000 schools in the country. Traditionally, the only way teachers were allocated was on the basis of numbers on 30 September of the preceding year. Given increasing population and school numbers, we then introduced allocation on the basis of projected numbers. It was on this basis that St. Mary's boys national school made its...

School Staffing. (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The allocation was made on the condition it would reach the required enrolment by 30 September 2007. The school wrote to the Department stating it had not reached the enrolment. Notwithstanding this, there is an independent appeals process. There are two times when this adjudication panel meets: the first is when the original allocations are made early in the summer and the second when...

School Staffing. (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The principal is making his appeal on that basis but he lost out on the September number because some families moved — I remember him telling me this. It is a very objective system. At the outset Deputy Quinn stated the school was only down by three pupils but there are schools which are down by only two or one. Teachers are employed in different schools on the basis of a panel. It is a...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools and the Department does not seek to intervene in decisions made by schools in such matters. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. This may result, however, in some pupils not obtaining a place in the...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The information sought by the Deputy is being compiled in my Department and will be sent to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, the Department is liaising with Fingal County Council in relation to a number of sites to be acquired under the Fingal School Model Agreement for educational provision in September 2008. The location for the new school, to which the Deputy refers, is being actively considered in that context.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2007)

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 a new national school in Monreagh. When the site acquisition process is finalised, consideration will be given to progression of the project in the context of the multi-annual School Building and Modernisation...

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Under my Department's Free Fees Initiative the Exchequer meets the tuition fees of eligible students who are attending approved undergraduate third-level courses in the State. There are no plans to extend this initiative to cover third level institutions in Northern Ireland. Under my Department's Higher Education Grant Schemes, maintenance grants are available to eligible students pursuing...

Written Answers — School Funding: School Funding (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 198 to 200, inclusive, together. The funding arrangements for existing recognised schools and the terms governing those arrangements are set out in Department circulars and notices including the arrangements for the payment of additional monies to schools having regard to the level of educational disadvantage of students in schools. These arrangements carry...

Written Answers — School Funding: School Funding (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 201 and 202 together. Schools receiving State aid, including denominational schools, take into account the wishes of parents in relation to the religious education of their children, including the wishes of parents who may not want to have their children follow any programme of religious education and this is provided for in Section 30 of the 1998 Education...

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I understand that what is at issue here are the entry requirements that must be satisfied by applicants for the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary Teaching). I consider that in the case of primary school teacher training it is essential that participants applying for the course meet the required criteria, as currently set down, which are common to all Colleges of Education that...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: In general, individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care, including traffic management measures. The issue of road safety measures outside the vested site areas of schools, such as road signage, traffic calming measures etc., is a matter that should be raised in the first instance with the...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (18 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Among the priority funding measures approved for support in 2006/2007 under the Educational Disadvantage category of the Dormant Account Fund and the RAPID Leverage Fund, was a scheme addressing educational infrastructure in disadvantaged schools. Eligibility for the scheme was restricted to primary and post primary schools participating in my Department's DEIS programme; schools in, or...