Results 13,381-13,400 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Officials in the Planning and Building Unit of my Department are actively pursuing the acquisition of the site for St Paul's Secondary School, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare which has been identified for the school. The make up of further school bundles in my Department's PPP school building programme will be determined on such issues as the band rating allocated to each school in accordance with...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is in discussions with the owners of the property referred to by the Deputy regarding the possibility of it being retained for educational use. These discussions are ongoing.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The project referred to by the Deputy is one of 122 projects I announced last year for proceeding to tender and construction over a 12 to 15 month period. Issues in relation to the site for this new 16 classroom school have recently been finalised and this now enables work to be done on the detailed design for the lodgement of planning permission. My Department is using a generic repeat...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension to provide ancillary accommodation has been received from the school referred to by the Deputy. The application has been assessed and is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme 2006-2010.

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together. The information sought by the Deputy is in the table. All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) that is administered by NEPS and full details...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I wish to inform the Deputy that an application form for the proposed works has been re-issued to the school in question on 20th of June 2006. When the completed form is returned to my Department, the matter will be considered as a matter of urgency.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that a petition has been received in my office. Major improvements in school staffing have been made in recent years with the hiring of more than 5,000 additional primary teachers. This represents the largest increase in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Today there is one teacher for every 17 children, the lowest pupil teacher ratio in the history of the...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information sought by the Deputy is being compiled in my Department and will be sent to her as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Any instances where planned reductions in class sizes are likely to be constrained by limited availability of space in particular schools will be addressed through the Schools Building and Modernisation Programme in the normal way.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A suitable site for the new school has been identified and an agreement on price, subject to contract, has been reached. The contract documents were only recently received in the office of the Chief State Solicitor and are currently being examined by same. It is my intention to progress the building of the school as soon as the site has been acquired.

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (22 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department will contact the individual concerned directly in relation to the issues raised.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The School Planning Section of my Department received an application for additional accommodation from the school to which the Deputy refers. The application is currently being assessed. A decision in the matter will issue to the school authority as quickly as possible.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Major improvements in school staffing have been made in recent years with the hiring of more than 5,000 additional primary teachers. This represents the largest increase in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Today there is one teacher for every 17 children, the lowest pupil teacher ratio in the history of the State. Aside from decreasing average class size, the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department operates a scheme of grants to primary and post primary schools to facilitate the purchase of special equipment, including computers, for the use of pupils with special educational needs. Under the terms of the scheme, pupils may with the consent of the Board of Management of the school, use such computer equipment at home to assist them in their education. It is open to the...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 233 together. The process of identifying primary and second-level schools for participation in the new School Support Programme under DEIS was managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of my Department and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's regional offices and the Inspectorate. The ERC's overall...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of the architectural planning process and was listed in my announcement of April 2005 as a project to progress through the architectural planning process up to pre-tender stage. In December 2005 following a review of the long-term accommodation needs of the school, my Department's officials visited the school...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The provisional student numbers for the 2005/06 academic year indicate that there are a total of 90 students on Clinical Psychologist courses in Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the National University of Ireland, Galway and the University of Limerick. The course in NUI, Galway commenced in the 2003/04 academic year while the course at the University of Limerick only...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The three Third Level Student Support Schemes, administered by the Local Authorities and the Vocational Education Committees on behalf of my Department, offer financial assistance to eligible students attending approved third level courses. Students entering approved courses for the first time are, generally speaking, eligible for grants where they satisfy the relevant conditions as to age,...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations, including organising the holding of examinations and making arrangements for the marking of work presented for examination. I understand from the State Examinations Commission that all observations received by the Commission in relation to the Leaving Certificate...

Written Answers — Class Sizes: Class Sizes (21 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in primary school staffing in recent years. Next September there will no less than 4000 extra teachers in our primary schools, compared with 2002. Not only is the average class size in our primary schools down to 24, but there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level, including resource teachers etc. Children with special...