Results 7,721-7,740 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is provided in the table. The average class size for the 2007/08 school year is currently being compiled in my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary level in recent years. There are now in the region of 6,000 more primary teachers than there were in 2002. By the 2006/07 school year, we had...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may be aware, the Summer Works Scheme was introduced in 2004. Since then, over 3,000 projects costing in excess of €300 million have been completed. Considerable extra investment has been provided in the Budget to increase funding for school buildings to almost €600 million next year. With so many small projects having been completed over the past few years, I intend to...

Written Answers — School Absenteeism: School Absenteeism (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The first national data on school attendance was collected for the 2003/2004 school year. Attendance data relating to the 2005/06 school year is currently being analysed by the NEWB. The findings from the 2004/05 analysis, which are consistent with the findings for the previous year, indicate that approximately 84,000 children under the age of 16 miss more than 20 days each year. The...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 322 and 323 together. The services the Deputy refers to are therapy services provided by the Health Service Executive. Responsibility for the delivery of therapy services lies with the relevant health authorities who are allocated funding for this purpose. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department provides a range of teaching and care supports for children...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has adopted a broad-based approach to tackling the issue of school attendance. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established to monitor attendance and help to get young people back to school. The Board runs promotional campaigns on the importance of attendance and finishing school and provides a service locally through its Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) to...

Written Answers — School Absenteeism: School Absenteeism (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 established the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) as the single statutory body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general functions of the Board are to ensure that each child attends a...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, all applications for large scale capital funding are assessed against published prioritisation criteria. Progress on individual projects, such as the one in question, will be considered in the context of the multi-Annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

Written Answers — School Closures: School Closures (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: In line with the requirements of Sustaining Progress, agreement has been reached between the parties to the Teachers' Conciliation Council in relation to the standardisation of the breaks at Christmas, Easter and mid-term in the first and second terms for the school year. Once schools adhere to the agreed standardisation, they have local flexibility in determining how they make up the...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has received a notification of intention to apply for recognition for a new Educate Together Primary School in the town specified by the Deputy. The New Schools Advisory Committee (NSAC), an independent advisory committee has been charged with the task of assessing, using a given set of criteria, applications to open new primary schools and make recommendations. The...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works, a grant of €484,000 was sanctioned to enable the management authorities of the school in question to provide additional accommodation. The scheme allows Boards of Management to address their accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives Boards of Management control of...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (19 Dec 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 (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: This site is being acquired under the Fingal School Model Agreement and is required to extend an existing school site. My Department is currently liaising with Fingal County Council on its transfer. The Deputy will appreciate however that due to the commercial sensitivities of land acquisitions, that it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the detail in relation to specific land...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: In order to provide greater choice and to cater for the requirements of an increasingly pluralist society, my Department is developing a new model of primary school patronage which will cater for the diversity of religious faiths represented in growing urban areas. It is also intended to cater for the wishes of parents who do not wish to have their children follow a programme of religious...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The data requested by the Deputy are not readily available and would take an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile. However, more general information on class sizes for the 2007/08 school year is currently being compiled in my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary level in recent years. There are now in the region of...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, the Department is working closely with Fingal County Council in relation to a number of sites to be acquired under the Fingal School Model Agreement for educational provision in the Dublin 15 area for 2008 and onwards. A site is being actively pursued under this Model to provide additional post primary places in the Castleknock area. A time line for the delivery...

Written Answers — Post-Primary schools: Post-Primary schools (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is not yet available with respect of the current school year. The information in respect of the school year 2006-07 is contained in my Department's published "List of Post-Primary Schools", a copy of which is provided to each member of Dáil Éireann annually. I have asked that another copy be forwarded to the Deputy through the post.

Written Answers — Summer Works Programme: Summer Works Programme (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available.

Written Answers — School Enrolment: School Enrolment (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The number of children who will leave primary schools, i.e. children currently enrolled in sixth class, in June 2008 in the Dublin 15 is not currently available. However, based on the number of children enrolled in fifth classes in 2006/07, the expected number of children leaving primary schools will be 970. There are six post primary schools currently serving the Dublin 15 area and in...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may be aware I have made a particular point of visiting as many schools as possible as well as attending school openings. This practice affords the opportunity of engaging with principals, teachers, pupils and parents and allows me and them to raise issues of interest and concern. In the course of a visit to another school I met with the principal of the school referred to by...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (19 Dec 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The information sought by the Deputy in respect of advice that has been formally commissioned on a consultancy basis is being compiled in my Department and will be sent to him as soon as possible.