Results 14,561-14,580 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: ——but they will fill up over the next couple of years. It means that there is a particular draw on our budget this year because we are spending so much in those developing areas. At the same time we are aiming to progress the projects in other areas. In recent years, thousands of schools outside of developing areas have benefited from projects under the summer works and small schools...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Expenditure on the rental and purchase of temporary accommodation amounted to only 6.2% of the total investment in school buildings in 2007.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: This compares with 10.8% in 2003. Suggestions often made that spending on prefabs has grown dramatically in recent years are misleading. It should be also noted that temporary accommodation is not limited to prefabs and can also involve the rental of high quality buildings. I assure Senators that the Government is determined to keep expenditure on prefabs as low as possible. The database...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: With a view to improving its own planning procedures, my Department's school planning and building unit has been recently re-organised with the establishment of a forward planning section and a developing areas unit. A number of new staff were employed by the Department to work in these areas and there has been a significant redistribution of existing staff within the building unit. That...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: As I outlined in my speech, band 1 will always get priority. I can only move on band 2 depending on what the costs are and the numbers in band 1 that are ready to move ahead. There is a particular problem this year because of the developing areas and the fact that we have taken a policy decision not to build them up prefab upon prefab but to put in new buildings from the beginning so that...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects: Motion (23 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The developing areas unit is tasked with meeting the immediate needs of areas experiencing significant increases in their school-going populations while the forward planning section is responsible for identifying more medium-term needs so that we can plan for them well in advance. To further strengthen the Department's planning capabilities, a geographic information system is currently being...

Written Answers — UNESCO Property: UNESCO Property (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I am aware that UNESCO's external auditor has raised questions about the way in which the removal of the organisation's stock of publications was managed in the period from 2004 to 2005, which resulted in the destruction of many books. The Director-General of UNESCO has expressed very strong concern about this situation, and has condemned the destruction of the collections of books. I...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is currently in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy in relation to finalising some details pertaining to the Design Team nominees currently under consideration. Delivery of all building projects, including the school in question, will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The development of a building project for the school in question is at an early stage. The commencement and progression of all large scale building projects from initial design stage through to construction phase, including this project, will be considered on an on-going basis in the context of my Department's Multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the general allocation system of learning support/resource teachers that was implemented in mainstream primary schools in September 2005. The system provides teaching resources to schools to enable them to cater for children with high-incidence special education needs such as borderline mild general learning disability and mild general learning...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is currently in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy in relation to finalising some details pertaining to the Design Team nominees currently under consideration. Delivery of all building projects, including the school in question, will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The project to which the Deputy refers is currently at an early stage of architectural planning process. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered on an on-going basis in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding has recently been approved in respect of works for the school in question.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The documentation referred to by the Deputy was received in my Department on Monday, 14th April and was assessed at a meeting the following day involving a School representative, the design team and officials from my Department. Some revisions to the submission are necessary before formal approval to proceed further is issued, but I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these are minor in...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together. It is estimated that in the region of 28,000 children benefit from English language support education. The majority of English language teaching posts are allocated on the basis of full-time posts rather than teaching hours. I have already allocated almost 2,000 language support teachers in the current school year. The corresponding...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is conscious of the extent of housing developments in the Lucan area and the consequences which this has for school provision. Because of this, substantial additional accommodation has been provided in the area by my Department at both primary and post-primary levels in recent years and this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Based on current demographic trends, my...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is of the view that sufficient additional capacity is available to serve the Lucan and Adamstown area and is satisfied that the site at the school to which the Deputy refers is sufficient to cater for its long term needs.

Written Answers — Dormant Accounts Fund: Dormant Accounts Fund (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: In light of the very large number of project proposals received and the level of oversubscription the Dormant Accounts Fund Inter-departmental Committee for Educational Disadvantage recommended that arrangements should be made to transfer these proposals to the Department's Planning and Building Unit for consideration in the context of the Department's overall Schools Building and...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Further to my previous response I wish to advise that, for the special rate of maintenance grant, an analogous payment is considered to be a social welfare payment paid by another country which can be equated to one of the listed eligible social welfare payments in the grant schemes. As the person referred to by the Deputy has not provided information in respect of an analogous payment the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (24 Apr 2008)

Mary Hanafin: An application for a home tuition grant for the pupil referred to by the Deputy was received recently in my Department. My officials requested additional information in support of the application. As soon as this information is received, the application will be considered further.