Results 1,861-1,880 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Higher Education Grants. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The capital value of her home might be considerable but one cannot expect her to sell her house to send her child to college. These issues must be balanced against the farmer with a lot of land. It is an issue we must examine carefully. I am more anxious to move ahead to find a system which would streamline the administration of the grant system in a fair way because it is being dealt with by...

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Department of Education and Science continues to progress the recommendations of the task force on the physical sciences as resources permit in collaboration and consultation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Forfás and industry. One of the recommendations in that report was the appointment of a chief scientist who would have responsibility for overseeing...

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy began by saying a number of different bodies were dealing with this issue and then went on to suggest there should be another body.

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I do not believe we need another implementation group when we already have the Cabinet sub-committee, a chief science adviser, a deputy chief science adviser and an interdepartmental committee for science, technology and innovation. I will certainly not add another layer to look at this issue. It is important to look at the teaching of science in schools. The numbers taking science subjects...

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: New schools and major extensions get such funding. In addition, curricular change is included under the summer works scheme and schools can get laboratories under that. We spent €60 million on summer works this year but I hope next year we will be able to do more under curricular work as well.

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I accept what the Deputy said about the skills of our young people, particularly those who have participated in the Young Scientist of the Year exhibition, having been an exhibitor fadó, fadó.

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Their success in international competitions is certainly to their credit. Gaelscoil Colmcille decided to set up in a football club. If a school wants to establish itself in a football club, it must realise the restrictions under which it will have to operate. The building needs of that school are currently being considered. We are spending €500 million on the schools building programme this...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school completion programme, which was launched in 2002, incorporates the learning, experience and best practice derived from previous early school leaving initiatives, namely, the eight to 15 early school leaver initiative and the stay in school retention initiative. The programme is a key component of the Department's strategy to discriminate positively in favour of children and young...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy's last question would be more appropriately directed to the Department administering that programme. The money available under the programme is used to great advantage, as any of us who have been in schools would have seen. We have devised models of best practice for breakfast clubs, which provide that food is offered to all pupils in a class or in a school rather than targeting...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Much can be done to promote healthy eating. It is promoted in the schools through the SPHE programme through encouraging students to learn about nutrition and food at primary and post-primary level. Family support services do great work in this area. We have seen this in our communities with the implementation of initiatives such as the Springboard Project where families in very disadvantaged...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The document has gone to the printer and for translation as a policy document. Caithfidh sé bheith ar fáil i nGaelige freisin. As soon as it is available I will launch it.

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: At the outset of my ministry I made it clear that each sector within the education system was important and it would be highly dangerous to ignore the third level sector in favour of any one of the other two sectors, because we need each of them for the future of society and the economy. My concentration continues to be on disadvantage and special needs. The amount of extra Exchequer spending...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In the five years to the end of 2004, my Department has spent €73.5 million on the purchase of prefabricated buildings in the primary and post-primary sectors. This expenditure was for the supply and installation of the prefabricated buildings, including associated site works and other costs such as for compliance with planning permission conditions, professional fees, connections for...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Expenditure on prefabricated buildings amounts to just 5% of the €1.6 billion spent in recent years. The measure is used to ensure a speedy response in growing areas in particular. Many of these buildings are used throughout the country for children with special needs. A number of them have a very long lifespan and are of very good quality. In many instances, one would not recognise that...

Leaders' Questions. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Not this week.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: That was the information requested by the Deputy.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to share time with Deputy Carey. I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "—commends the Government on the significant additional resources provided since 1997 for the educational system generally and for the education of disadvantaged pupils and those with special needs in particular; —recognises that there are over 4,000...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The two go hand in hand. Before Christmas I launched the numeracy and literacy report on disadvantaged schools which looked at many of the schools with class sizes of 15 or 20 and which found that the literacy levels there had not improved because of other factors that impinged on the literacy levels of a child, mainly related to the literacy level of the family, whether the home had books,...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A number of factors feed into literacy levels. We accept that class size can make a difference at junior level. The INTO has also accepted that changes in teaching styles need to go hand in hand with class size reduction.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In achieving the Government target on smaller class sizes priority must, in the first instance, be given to children with special needs and those in disadvantaged areas. As I told the teacher conferences last month, it is in this area that I will be making significant progress initially, with extra staffing for disadvantaged schools in the next school year.