Results 8,021-8,040 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Water Services. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: There is no committee and I did not even mention setting up such a committee. Since last year we have been in discussions with the former and current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to see how we can reduce this burden on schools. When this was being introduced in 1999, the Department of Education and Science sought a derogation for schools but at that stage the...
- Water Services. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I had a very good week last week. Any day a Minister responsible for a Department gets â¬9.3 billionââ
- Water Services. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: ââof taxpayers' money to be spent on education is a very good week. It enables us to do many of the things in the programme for Government. In future years we will continue to meet those commitments. At second level a school of 500 students gets â¬307,000 and at primary level a school of 300 pupils gets â¬100,000.
- Water Services. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: We made those increases because of the needs schools have. The Water Framework Directive uses the terminology "the polluter pays". It is just a general term indicating that those who use the water should pay for it. The charges applied to schools by different local authorities are inconsistent. We are working with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Further to my reply to Question No. 56 of 13 November 2007, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department's developing areas unit has been established. To date, 11 members of staff have been redeployed to the unit, comprising one principal officer, one assistant principal officer, one senior architect, one architectural assistant, three higher executive officers and four executive...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Regarding the schools contacted by the Department, in January we will notify the schools that will be allowed to go to tender. We will do it over a phased basis during the year. Quite a number of schools are at various stages in the process â design, architectural planning, ready to go to tender, etc. Regarding greenfield sites for the fast developing areas, a tendering document was...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: No, it is not. It is permanent accommodation that will last 25 to 30 years. The buildings constructed in the 1970s have lasted 30 to 35 years. It is a speedy, efficient and good quality way to deliver accommodation. I have always outlined that the timeframe we have for many developing areas is extraordinarily tight. The tenders are due to be opened on 2 January, at which point we will...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: What the Deputy is referring to is a very modern efficient way of construction. It is important that we should have accommodation as efficiently and as speedily as possible. The one in Laytown is not exactly what we are talking about. However, Laytown is a good example of very good quality accommodation and the people there are very pleased with it. However, that is not the one about...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: We need planning permission for the accommodation on these sites.
- Special Educational Needs. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The National Council for Special Education was required by the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to make a report on the implementation of the Act. This report is essentially advice to the Minister on the steps the council considers should be taken to implement the Act within a five-year period from the establishment date of the council, which was in October 2005....
- Special Educational Needs. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, when first introduced, envisaged a five-year implementation period. The report from the council on its studies and recommendations also outlined that it needed further work and analysis and further discussion with the partners. For this reason I will stick with what was originally in the legislation because we cannot move more...
- Special Educational Needs. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I have outlined the considerable progress which has taken place in a very short period of time. I referred to the number of people working in the area, the guidelines, the cross-sectoral group, the appeals board, the standards for assessment and the investment of â¬900 million. This is what is happening every day. The remaining sections of the Act will be implemented within the five-year...
- Physical Education Facilities. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The PE curriculum has been designed on the basis that facilities in schools may vary. Many primary schools have a general purpose room and practically all schools have outdoor play areas which are used for teaching different aspects of the PE programme. A similar situation with sports halls and outdoor facilities applies at second level. In addition, many schools use adjacent local...
- Physical Education Facilities. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: All new school buildings and major refurbishments have PE halls as a matter of course. With 4,000 schools and more than half of primary schools having four teachers or fewer, we will not provide PE halls for very small schools. Last week I opened an extension at a school with 19 children. We did not provide a PE hall in that case but, as it happens, the school in question has adequate...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
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 level in recent years and this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Based on current demographic trends, my...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy is correct in so far as he talks about the population of the area. In fact, that is why the expansion in the number of primary school places was so significant. Twelve primary schools now operate in the Lucan area. This has served to meet the needs to which the Deputy referred. Site acquisition is the first issue to be addressed. We have asked South Dublin County Council to...
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The Lucan south action group will be encouraged when it receives the reply. I am not in a position to give any further information, other than to say South Dublin County Council will identify a site for us. We will move on it and the other extensions also.
- Schools Building Projects. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I am sure the Deputy will have told it before the evening is out.
- School Curriculum. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Every day in this job I learn something new and this is one of those. I understand that proponents of intelligent design theory assert that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. Those who favour this theory claim that the complexity of the natural world can be plausibly explained...
- School Curriculum. (11 Dec 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I am not aware of any pressure to introduce it at all into the science syllabus or of any school which is attempting to introduce it as part of the science syllabus. I did not know where the question came from but I am glad I have had the opportunity to learn about it. Looking at other countries, in the United States, for instances, it was rejected as a science and could not be promoted....