Results 9,021-9,040 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all children, including those with autism, receive an education appropriate to their needs. With regard to specific provision for children with autism, the Government believes that as each child with autism is unique; such children should have access to a range of different interventions to meet their individual needs. Applied...

Written Answers — Cross-Border Projects: Cross-Border Projects (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: My Department, together with the Department of Education Northern Ireland, has responsibility for the development of co-operation and common action in the field of education between both parts of the island of Ireland, in the context of the Good Friday Agreement. My Department's North/South Unit is required to take forward this co-operation through the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC)...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department's School Planning Section is currently examining educational provision at primary level in the area to which the Deputy refers. Factors under consideration include population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Having considered these factors, a...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The proposal for the school referred to by the Deputy is to construct a new 16-classroom generic repeat design facility on the existing school site. Currently, the Client, the School Board of Management, is in the final stages of appointing an architectural design team to the project. The final date for receipt of tenders from pre-selected, short-listed candidates is Tuesday, 23rd October....

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension has been received from the school referred to by the Deputy. An assessment of projected enrolment trends, demographic trends and housing developments in the area was carried out in order to inform the determination of the long term projected staffing on which the school's accommodation needs will be based. This has been...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has given a very high priority to the provision of resources to address the learning difficulties of children with low levels of achievement in reading and numeracy. As the Deputy is aware, my Department implemented a general allocation system in all primary schools in September 2005 to ensure that every school has learning support/resource teaching support already in place to...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As I advised the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 401, my Department implemented a general allocation system of learning support/resource teachers (LS/RT) to mainstream primary schools, including gaelscoileanna in September 2005. The language used by the learning support, formerly remedial, teacher should reflect the ethos of the school in which s/he works and the needs of...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 402, 417, 419 and 420 together. I am conscious of the extent of housing developments in the Lucan area and the pressure that this has created for school places. In light of this, the Department has expanded capacity significantly at both primary and post primary level to cater for existing and newly emerging demands for pupil places. The Department monitors...

Written Answers — Departmental Reviews: Departmental Reviews (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Technical Guidance Document 014 relating to Guidance for the Pre-Selection of Contractors for Capital Works Projects is under review in my Department at present. The review is being carried out in consultation with the Department of Finance and the revised guidance document will be published on my Department's website as soon as the review is completed.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware the Department is moving to acquire a number of sites reserved in the Balbriggan area under the Fingal School Model Agreement for the provision of educational facilities. A permanent site for the school referred to by the Deputy is being acquired under this process. With regard to the necessary re-location of the school at the end of the 2007/08 school-year,...

Written Answers — Teacher Graduates: Teacher Graduates (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Below in tabular form are the numbers of pupils from Dublin city or county who (i) registered with, and (ii) graduated from the five Colleges of Education in each of the years 2003 to 2006 inclusive (Bachelor of Education or the Post Graduate Diploma in Education). The figures for 2007 are in the course of preparation by the Colleges and when received will be forwarded directly to the Deputy...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. Another specific function of the SENO is to identify appropriate educational placements for children with...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Three teaching vacancies out of a total teaching complement of four teaching posts have arisen in the school for the 2006/2007 school year. Due to this exceptional number of vacancies, the school was unable to re-open in September 2007. I am informed that the Board of Management is actively engaged in a recruitment process to fill these vacancies and that every effort is being made to...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: Language Support Teachers are provided at primary and post-primary levels to those schools which have newcomer pupils who do not have English as their first language. The limit of two Language Support Teachers per school was removed last year and the provision of language support has been extended beyond two years. As a result, some schools with a large number of newcomer children without...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware the Department published, in January this year, an Area Development Plan in draft format which sets out the educational infrastructural requirements of the North Dublin, East Meath and South Louth area into the future. In this draft Plan, which is available on the Department's website, www.education.ie, the Department has set out its recommendations for the North...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: It is the Department's intention to construct a new post-primary school to cater for the long term needs of the area served by the school to which the Deputy refers. The acquisition of a site for this purpose is being actively pursued.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The brief for the building for the school in question is for 12 general classrooms and appropriate ancillary accommodation. The Board of Management of the school have been advised of the approval of Stage 3 of the architectural design and instructed to advise their Design Team to progress the project to the next stage of architectural planning.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is in regular communication with officials in Meath County Council in relation to proposed housing developments for Navan and the consequential educational requirements that may be necessary for the future at both primary and post-primary level. The Navan Development Plan 2003-2009 identified 5 areas in Navan as being suitable for the preparation of Local Area Plans and the...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: As outlined to the Deputy in my previous Parliamentary response, the Department is in the process of trying to acquire a suitable site for the primary school concerned. It is not proposed to locate a post-primary school at the site in question.

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (9 Oct 2007)

Mary Hanafin: An additional 80 posts were made available in 2006 to extend Home School Community Liaison services to all schools selected to participate in DEIS, the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, that did not have such services. I also extended my commitment to schools not selected to participate in DEIS but already in HSCL scheme, to continue to support these schools in their efforts to deal with...