Results 12,581-12,600 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware there has been enormous progress made over the past number of years in relation to increasing the number of teachers in our schools who are specifically dedicated to providing education for children with special educational needs. At primary level, there are now more than 5,000 teachers in our primary schools working directly with children with special needs,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together. The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all children, including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, receive an education appropriate to their needs. The following autism-specific educational provision has been established: 171 Special Classes for children with autism, attached to special and mainstream schools; 5...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application has been received in my Department from the school referred to by the Deputy under the Summer Works Scheme 2007. My Department is currently assessing all applications received from schools. I intend to announce details of the approved schemes by the end of the year.

Written Answers — School Completion Programme: School Completion Programme (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Kilkenny Individual Learning Programme is currently in receipt of funding for activities under the Kilkenny School Completion Programme. The objective of the School Completion Programme is to provide a range of in-school, after-school, out-of-school and holiday interventions in areas of disadvantage that support the retention of young people in education. The programme targets those in...

Written Answers — School Closures: School Closures (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy may be aware, the decision to close the school was taken by the school's Trustees and it was decided that the closure of the school would take place on a phased basis, culminating with full closure in June 2007. In part, thanks to the cooperation of another school in the immediate area, the necessary arrangements have been made to ensure that all pupils in the closing school...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Primary schools' running costs have been traditionally met by the Department's scheme of capitation grants which are the main source of funding for the running costs of primary schools. The scheme of funding is flexible in nature and affords Boards of Management discretion as to how the funding is used in meeting schools' day-to-day running costs. The capitation grant to primary schools has...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Cork County VEC has identified a suitable site for the new school in question. My Department has authorised the VEC to negotiate, subject (inter alia) to Contract and value for money considerations, with the vendor for the acquisition of the site. When the site purchase is complete the building project will be considered in the context of my Department's School Building and Modernisation...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension has been assessed and the long term projected staffing, on which the accommodation needs will be based, has recently been determined and notified to the school authority. In order to determine how best to provide for the school's accommodation needs into the future, it will be necessary to have a technical assessment of...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The long term accommodation needs of the school referred to by the Deputy has been determined as 12 mainstream classrooms plus appropriate ancillary accommodation and the school authority have been notified of same. The building project required to deliver the school accommodation is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme 2006-2010.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The staffing in the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2006/2007 school year is as follows: 1 Principal Post, 7 Mainstream Class Teacher Posts, 1 Permanent Developing School Post, 3 Permanent Learning Support/Resource Post, 1 Temporary Language Support Post. My Department recently received the September Salary Return form from the Board of Management of the School. This form indicated...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's support package for the July Education Programme is available to all special schools and mainstream primary schools with special classes catering for children with autism who choose to extend their education services through the month of July. The Department also provides for a July Programme for pupils with a severe/profound general learning disability. The package includes...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: According to my Department's records, there are 27,823 teachers employed in primary schools currently. There are 25,448 primary teachers employed on a permanent basis and 110 temporary teachers employed at primary level in a designated special class or unit. The staffing of a primary school for a particular school year is determined by reference to the enrolment of the school on the 30th...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 554 to 556, inclusive, together. I wish to advise the Deputy that the number of special educational needs organisers (SENOs) that may be employed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is subject to the consent of the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for Finance under Section 25(1) of the Education for Persons with Special...

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of Higher Education Grants Scheme administered by the Local Authorities on behalf of my Department, the position is that, generally speaking, students who are entering approved courses for the first time are eligible for grants where they satisfy the relevant conditions as to age, residence, means, nationality and previous academic attainment. The candidate's reckonable income...

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The decision on eligibility for third level grants and the issue of grant awards is a matter for the relevant local authority or VEC. These bodies do not refer individual applications to my Department except in exceptional cases where, for example, advice or instruction regarding a particular clause in the relevant scheme is desired. My Department contacted Kildare VEC, the awarding body in...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works, a grant of €440,000 was sanctioned in March 2005 to the management authority of the school in question to extend and refurbish their school. This was the rate of grant applicable to a four teacher school in 2005. The rate applicable to a four teacher school in 2004 was €350,000. My Department is in...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Improving students' competences in spoken and written Irish is a major policy priority of my Department and a range of measures have been taken in this regard, with plans for further actions to take effect in the near future. The role of the Chomhairle is to provide policy advice, undertake research, provide support services, and plan and co-ordinate the provision of textbooks and teaching...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion, provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The School Support Programme will bring together, and build upon, a number of existing interventions in schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage. The process of...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The capital funding at primary level for 2006 is €277 million and this is being used to fund a record school building programme which includes the delivery on a devolved basis of circa. 740 projects in primary schools throughout the country. Expenditure to date is over €172m which is significantly ahead of profiled expenditure.

Written Answers — School Completion Programme: School Completion Programme (17 Oct 2006)

Mary Hanafin: It is not possible to identify and account for all pupils leaving primary schools and not transferring to another school due to the lack of an individual Primary Pupil Database. My Department is currently planning the development of such a Database, which will facilitate the collation of much more accurate and comprehensive data on transfer rates in the future. Together with the current...