Results 13,581-13,600 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Data is not currently being collected on participation by students with an intellectual disability on courses in third level institutions. I have been advised by the National Access Office of the HEA, on the basis of advice from AHEAD (the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability) and third level disability personnel, that the numbers of students from this group are very small....

Written Answers — Student Support Schemes: Student Support Schemes (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Part-time courses are not approved courses under the terms of the Maintenance Grant Schemes. Any extension of the student support schemes to part-time studies would have significant cost implications. I have no plans at present to extend the grant schemes to include part-time students. I wish to advise the Deputy of the provisions under Section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. This...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's planning guidelines for new post-primary school buildings allows for the provision of an 80m2 music/drama room for schools that offer music as a subject on the school curriculum. The guidelines also allow for the provision of fixed and loose furniture and demountable staging. In addition my Department provides grant aid for the purchase of music instruments and equipment....

Written Answers — School Management: School Management (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department does not collect data on the insurance costs in schools as it is a matter for the managerial authorities of the individual schools to arrange insurance cover on school property and against public liability. My Department does however provide funding to primary and secondary schools by way of per capita grants, which affords schools considerable flexibility in the use of these...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy in respect of primary schools is not available in my Department. However, my Department is developing a Primary Pupil Database which will monitor the progression of individuals through the education system. The database will be a very useful tool for the Department in evaluating the effectiveness of educational initiatives and I am anxious that it be...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is not held in my Department. Details of enrolments at both primary and post primary level are kept by school authorities.

Written Answers — Education Centre Network: Education Centre Network (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The part-time Education Centre covered by the Deputy's question is part of a network of twenty one full-time and nine part-time Education Centres which are located throughout the Country. Education Centres provide professional development and support for teachers and the wider education community through meeting locally researched and identified teacher and school community needs. They also...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There is no sector-wide policy such as that referred to by the Deputy. However, I understand that the particular school in question has, as part of it's admissions policy, a requirement that reports from the applicants previous school be supplied. If there is a difficulty with meeting this requirement then the parents should discuss this with the Principal of the school. The selection and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I wish to assure the Deputy that I am most anxious that all children, including children with autistic spectrum disorders, receive an education appropriate to their needs. It is in recognition of this that my Department currently provides the following facilities for the education of children with autism at primary level: 160 Special Classes for children with autism, attached to special and...

Written Answers — Schools Recognition: Schools Recognition (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Authorities from the proposed school to which the Deputy refers has been informed by my Department that a review of educational provision in the area concerned is being carried out by the School Planning Section of my Department. The application in question is being considered in this context. As soon as the review is completed contact will be made again directly with the applicant.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Board of Management of the school referred to by the Deputy have submitted a request for a revision of the current band rating for its proposed project. The documentation received from the school is under consideration in the School Planning Section of my Department and as soon as a decision is reached, my Department will advise the school's management authority of the decision.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: An application for capital funding towards the provision of an extension has been received from the school referred to by the Deputy. The application has been assessed in accordance with the prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme 2006-2010.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is provided in the table set out asfollows. 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...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I am glad to inform the Deputy that as of 6 June 2006 all National Schools have returned their Annual Primary Census Form for the school-year 2005/2006.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Information provided to date to the Student Support Unit of my Department regarding the socio-economic background of third level grant recipients is currently being verified with the Awarding Authorities. I expect that this process will be at an advanced stage by the end of next week, Friday 16th June. My Department will forward to the Deputy the information that is available within my...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department and the Department for Education in Northern Ireland are engaged in the development of the Middletown Centre for Autism in County Armagh. The purchase of the Middletown property to house the Centre was jointly funded and work has just been completed on the development of a campus masterplan to refurbish the property. The Centre will be dedicated to improving and enriching the...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A decision will be made on the application to establish a new Educate Together school in West Wicklow within days. The reason the decision was deferred at the time that the list of new schools was announced was to allow for consideration of the impact that recognising this school would have on the existing schools in the area, plans for the expansion of which are well advanced. The New...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Teachers trained outside the jurisdiction of the State, whose qualifications have been assessed and accepted by my Department, but who do not possess an appropriate Irish language qualification, are granted a five year period of provisional recognition to teach in mainstream classes in national schools. During this period these teachers are expected to obtain their Irish language...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (7 Jun 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Teachers in national schools are generalists rather than subject specialists and must be qualified to teach the range of primary school subjects to children aged 4 to 12 years. Accordingly, applicants must satisfy the Department of Education and Science that they are competent to teach the Irish language and to teach the range of primary school curricular subjects through the medium of Irish...