Results 20,041-20,060 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (27 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The information that the Deputy has sought is as follows: Three credit cards have been issued and authorised for use by: 1. The private secretary to the Minister for Education and Science 2. The private secretary to the Minister of State 3. The principal officer, IT unit, Department of Education and Science. The cards are authorised for official use only and have been used exclusively for...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (27 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The property management section of the Office of Public Works acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally. That office is currently pursuing a significant number of sites at the request of my Department for the provision of new school buildings. The cost of these sites has not been fully determined as negotiations are ongoing but I can assure the Deputy that...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (27 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am not aware of any specific letter issuing from my Department to local authorities in relation to a general request to include site reservations in development plans, however, I want to assure her that my Department has a number of pro-active strategies to ensure that the requirement for schools in developing areas are addressed in a timely manner. The process of assessing the need for new...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (27 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that my Department has received an application for five hours resource teacher support for the pupil in question. As the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has taken over responsibility for such matters with effect from 1 January 2005, the application has been referred to the NCSE. My officials have been informed by the NCSE that the matter has been referred to the...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 805 and 1129 together. The college referred to by the Deputies is a privately-owned institution providing a privately-run course which has been accredited by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. In order for the course to secure HETAC accreditation, the college complied with HETAC's quality assurance and validation requirements. The graduate...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that my Department is proposing a new system for the allocation of resource teaching supports to pupils with special educational needs. This system will involve a general teaching allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence special educational need, i.e., those with borderline mild and mild general learning disability, specific...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has no record of an application for special needs assistant support being received for the pupil in question. My officials have also confirmed with the National Council for Special Education that no such application has been received by the local special education needs organiser. Any application for special needs assistant support should be submitted by the school to the local...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The extension and refurbishment project at the school to which the Deputy refers has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which was revised following consultation with the education partners and is considered suitable for consideration for funding under one of the devolved initiatives. The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced the first phase of the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that no application for special educational needs support has been received either by my Department or the National Council for Special Education for the pupil concerned. If it is the case that the school authorities want to discuss issues in connection with an educational plan or the supports that are available, it should make contact with its local special educational needs...

Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I assume the Deputy is referring to the number of places approved annually for post-leaving certificate courses. Information relating to the uptake of PLC places in 2004-05 by vocational education committees and individual schools and colleges outside the VEC system is currently being analysed by my Department. The approval process for PLC places for the academic year 2005-06 will take...

Written Answers — Capitation Grants: Capitation Grants (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 811 and 1101 together. As the Deputies will be aware differing funding arrangements have evolved for the different school types at second level. At the core of all arrangements is a reliance upon capitation as the principle determinant of funding. There are however significant differences in the approaches to the funding of back-up services such as for...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that my Department has no record of receiving a recent application for resource teaching support for the pupil in question. My Department sanctioned four hours resource teaching support for the pupil on 14 July 2003 and this is the maximum support available for the pupil's disability category. The pupil also has the services of a full time special needs assistant.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The home tuition scheme is primarily intended to provide compensatory instruction for pupils who have a medical ailment that is likely to cause major disruption of their attendance at school. The scheme may also apply to pupils who cannot attend school at all, or are absent for a significant proportion of the school year. I understand that the pupil in question is enrolled in a mainstream...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The home tuition scheme is primarily intended to provide compensatory instruction for pupils who have a medical ailment likely to cause major disruption of their attendance at school. My Department continues to provide home tuition grants to pupils who cannot attend school at all, or are absent for a significant proportion of the school year. My Department is endeavouring to have the review...

Written Answers — Weight of Schoolbags: Weight of Schoolbags (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Arrangements are being made by my Department to issue a further circular letter to all primary and post-primary schools highlighting the importance of schools' and parents' awareness of problems posed by the weight of pupils' schoolbags and drawing the attention of schools in particular to the recommendations contained in the report of the Working Group on the Weight of Schoolbags....

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 816 and 1066 together. The school to which the Deputy refers has submitted an application for grant aid under the summer works scheme 2005 for roof repairs and mechanical works. All SWS applications are currently being assessed in the school planning section of my Department. I intend to publish the list of successful applicants in the near future.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that my Department is proposing a new system for the allocation of resource teaching supports to pupils with special educational needs. This system will involve a general teaching allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence SEN, i.e., those with borderline mild and mild general learning disability, specific learning disability, and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy may be aware that the National Council for Special Education assumed responsibility for processing applications for special needs assistant support from 1 January 2005. I am satisfied that the establishment of the NCSE will greatly enhance the provision of services for children with special educational needs and result in a timely response to schools which have made application for...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for temporary accommodation has been received from the school authority to which the Deputy refers. All applications for temporary accommodation for the 2005-06 school year are currently being assessed in the school planning section of my Department. I intend to publish a list of the successful applicants shortly.

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (26 Jan 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school to which the Deputy refers is heavily oversubscribed as a result of a significant number of pupils enrolling from outside its catchment area. The development of this type of situation can impact negatively on pupils who reside within the catchment area and who are entitled, as of right, to a place in a particular school. It also invariably impacts negatively on the school or...