Results 14,421-14,440 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Child Abuse. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I understand that Ms O'Keeffe is distressed about it. Tomorrow, the State Claims Agency will meet the representatives from my Department and on Friday will meet Ms O'Keeffe's legal advisers and should be able to put forward a proposal then. I will suggest that the agency revert to my Department before implementing a decision in order to get our view on what the decision should be. I will ask...

Child Abuse. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I reiterate that the Taoiseach made it clear in the House, the State Claims Agency made it clear and I am making it clear that we want the case dealt with sympathetically. At this stage, the best thing possible for Ms O'Keeffe is that it not be dragged out further. I welcome the fact that both meetings will take place this week. I would like to see a quick conclusion to the matter and I will...

Educational Disadvantage. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A key focus of the Government's education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. Almost €650 million is being provided in 2006 for a wide variety of measures to tackle educational disadvantage at all levels and for all ages, from pre-school through the formal...

Educational Disadvantage. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The various measures introduced over the years have been evaluated separately. We all know of the success of the home-school-community liaison scheme. The reading recovery programme, which is operating in only a limited number of schools at the moment, is working really well. That is why we aim to extend that under the new action plan. Indeed, the same is true of the mathematics programme....

Educational Disadvantage. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy answered the question. It is the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science with special responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who will be co-ordinating with us on child care and education provision. He is ideally suited to it as he is also attached to the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Health and Children. With his own support...

Schools Recognition. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There is an established procedure under which any potential sponsors of a new school or a group seeking recognition under the Education Act for a school that is already operating can apply for recognition of the school concerned. If a school is granted recognition the person or body that requested recognition becomes the patron of the school as defined in the Education Act 1998. This means...

Schools Recognition. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I am conscious of the increase in the population size and its cultural diversity. We need to have an approach that is adaptable to ensure primary school provision. Although the figure of 200 in the west Dublin area is overstated, I accept there is an issue in the area. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is working on a resolution. Whereas, we have a situation of having historical...

Schools Recognition. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Under the Education Act 1998, VECs are not precluded from doing so. Legally there is no difficulty and there is no problem with the principle.

Schools Recognition. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: We are actively seeking a resolution to this problem. It is not a case of bad planning. Many apartments were built in the area in which, unusually, families of school-going children live. Normally, one would have anticipated that younger couples or individuals would live in them. For various reasons, such as immigration, these apartments were populated by whole families with children who need...

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 62 together. The issue of child protection and ensuring all children in every primary school are aware of child protection issues is a high priority area for the Department of Education and Science. The Stay Safe programme is a personal safety programme for children. It is designed to give children the knowledge and necessary skills to help them deal...

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Stay Safe programme is one method of achieving that. Vetting of staff, proper procedures and policies in schools also add to child protection. There is an obligation on everyone involved in the education system to ensure that is the case. The reason I am waiting for the survey to be completed is that parents have the right for their children to opt out of the programme.

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I agree. I want every child to have access to the programme. Having considered the programme for each of the different age groups, I cannot understand why parents would not want their child to be involved with the programme. I also cannot understand why teachers would not want to teach it. It is a well-focussed and targeted programme for children about themselves, their feelings and...

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The child protection guidelines are issued to all schools, and all boards of management are obliged to implement them. We have introduced training for school boards of management and teachers, so all the parties involved in schools are well aware of their duties and obligations in this regard. From information previously received, it would appear that there are some geographical areas where...

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: That was the last survey.

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: If a particular issue concerning the programme needs to be addressed then well and good. To be honest, however, having examined the programme, I cannot see one. At the time it was introduced, scare-mongering comments were made by individuals, which worried parents to such an extent they felt they should pull out of it, without having realised what the programme was about to do. In recent...

Stay Safe Programme. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: As regards the points raised by Deputy Finian McGrath and Deputy Crowe, parents are central to this matter. The programme recognises that parents are the most important people in a child's life. It also recognises that a child who is upset is most likely to turn to its parents in the first instance. That is why, before the programme is even introduced into a school, there are parents'...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: It is anticipated that at least 500 additional teaching posts will be created in the coming school year, 2006-07. These extra posts will be as a result of both Government announcements of extra staff to reduce class size and to tackle disadvantage, and of our commitment to provide extra teachers as needed to support children with special needs and those for whom English is not their first...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The system would not have the capacity to introduce more than 500 teachers next year. That is generally accepted by the education partners. Those 500 teachers will be placed across all of the Government's priorities, namely, disadvantage, special needs and the reduction of class size. During the past number of years, 4,000 extra teachers entered the system through enrolments, population and,...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I was not discussing buildings, I was discussing the availability of teachers. Retirements, secondments and extra needs in the classrooms mean the issue is the availability of the number of teachers. An allocation of 500 extra teachers in one school year is extremely generous and will make a great difference to our schools. It is due to the reduction in class size and special needs, and is a...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for her kind comments on my prestigious award.