Results 1,241-1,260 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Each year my Department decides on the number of places to be provided on the teacher training programmes, both in respect of school leavers and postgraduate applicants, in the colleges of education, having regard to the projected demand for qualified primary teachers. Among the factors which are taken into account in arriving at the decision is the projected number of retirements. In 2004, a...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As a general point, both my Department and the Office of Public Works, which acts on my Department's behalf in site acquisitions, may deal with private companies in the acquisition of land. With regard to those building projects where the Minister is formally the client, as distinct from the school board of management, my Department engages directly with firms for architectural, engineering...

Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: This Government has been investing heavily in our higher education system and in our third level research infrastructure. An amount of €671.6 million has been allocated to the university sector for 2005. This is an increase of over €41 million or approximately 7% on the 2004 outturn for the sector. The additional funding being provided in 2005 marks a return to the significant upward...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In light of the reality that pupils in the high incidence disability categories of mild and borderline mild general learning disability and dyslexia are distributed throughout the education system, my Department, in consultation with educational interests, developed a general model of resource teacher allocation to schools to support students in these disability categories. This model, which...

Written Answers — Public Private Partnerships: Public Private Partnerships (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My colleague, the Minister for Finance, provided a capital envelope of €555 million in respect of education PPPs for the period 2005 to 2009 and I am currently examining how this may be best utilised. A key rationale underpinning the decision to proceed with the initial bundle of five schools was to test the PPP approach in the case of schools, to learn from the experience and thereby to...

Written Answers — Literacy Testing: Literacy Testing (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has not made a specific financial allocation to primary schools towards the purchase of literacy testing documentation in the period in question. However, my Department's scheme of capitation grants gives schools discretion to purchase materials in accordance with their needs and funds provided under this scheme may be used for the purchase of literacy testing documentation as...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's White Paper on adult education, "Learning for Life", identified the need for targeted interventions so as to encourage and support the participation of certain priority groups in adult education. In particular, the White Paper highlighted the allocation of additional resources to address adult literacy needs and the need to provide increased opportunities for adult learners,...

Written Answers — Student Union Funding: Student Union Funding (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I met with representatives of the Union of Secondary Students recently and, among other things, we discussed the question of financial support from my Department for the union. I have informed the students that I am willing to consider requests from their organisation for financial assistance for specific projects such as their annual general meeting or the hosting of conferences. However, it...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Monaghan Institute of Further Education and Training currently provides 169 PLC places. The college has applied for capital funding and this application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for inclusion in the school buildings and modernisation programme. It has been agreed that the long-term accommodation needs of the college will be met by way of a new...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In accordance with the commitment in the An Agreed Programme for Government, I propose to introduce a single unified scheme of maintenance grants for students in higher education for the academic year, 2006-7. In this context, I intend to put in place, as early as possible, a more coherent administration system which will facilitate consistency of application and improved client...

Written Answers — Education Welfare Service: Education Welfare Service (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The National Educational Welfare Board has indicated to my Department that the average caseload of each educational welfare officer as at end January 2005 was 168 based on a staff complement of 63. In November last, my Department conveyed approval to the NEWB for the recruitment of a further ten educational welfare officers. These additional posts will enable the board to further roll out its...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Every effort is made to ensure that children with special educational needs receive an education appropriate to their needs and in recent years significant additional resources have been made available to schools to enable them to provide for children with such needs. In this regard, the following dedicated resources are now deployed to support children with special educational needs in the...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The number of primary schools, including special schools, that have NEPS psychologists directly assigned to them is 1,766. All schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and...

Written Answers — Early School Leavers: Early School Leavers (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The specific information requested by the Deputy is not available at present. However, the National Economic and Social Forum report of 2002 on early school leaving cited, as a broad estimate, that around 1,000 children do not transfer from primary to post-primary on an annual basis. There is some doubt attaching to this estimated figure of 1,000, which may be an over statement of the true...

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Reading literacy achievement in primary schools is measured using standardised reading tests. Children's achievement scores on these tests are expressed in percentiles from 1 to 99. Those who score at or below the tenth percentile are generally regarded as having serious literacy difficulties and would be given additional supports in school, such as learning support teaching. At second level,...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 110 together. There is provision in the National Development Plan 2000-2006 for funding in the education sector through the employment and human resources development operational programme, the productive sector operational programme, the two regional operational programmes and the Peace II programme. This provision is targeted at measures to promote...

Written Answers — Substance Abuse: Substance Abuse (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is aware of the concerns which have been raised about young people's behaviour with alcohol and drugs. For most young people, it is the misuse of substances — particularly alcohol — which is the greatest threat to their physical and emotional health and to their well being. As a consequence, students' engagement with their studies can be seriously affected. While education...

Written Answers — Schools of Music: Schools of Music (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Government decided last July that my Department should finalise contractual negotiations with Jarvis Projects Limited with the view to commencing construction of the Cork School of Music as soon as practical. Shortly thereafter Jarvis Plc, preferred bidder for the CSM project, announced a profit warning on the London Stock Exchange. To help solve its financial difficulties the company...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 118 together. The terms of the Government decision of February 1999 to establish the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, allowed for the number of psychologists in the educational system to increase gradually to 200. It was envisaged that approximately 180 psychologists would be in NEPS and the balance elsewhere, for example, in the VECs...

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 89 together. The Residential Institutions Redress Board was set up under statute in 2002 to provide financial redress to victims of child abuse in State regulated residential institutions with the aim of assisting them in their recovery and enhancing the quality of the remainder of their lives. The board provides an alternative to victims having to...