Results 16,661-16,680 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Teacher allocations to second level schools and vocational education committees, VECs, are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. Each school management authority is required to organise its timetable and subject options having regard to pupils needs within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. Apart from meeting...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The position is that the Government has decided that all members of the national teachers' and secondary teachers' superannuation schemes in service on 31 March 2004 should be given the option of joining the revised spouses' and children's contributory pension scheme. This decision was taken following a recommendation of the joint union and management working group which considered the...

Written Answers — Departmental Records: Departmental Records (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the provisions of the National Archives Act 1986 and the general requirement relating to transfer to the National Archives of Department records which are more than 30 years old. However, the Act also provides for the retention of records that are in regular use by a particular Department and where their transfer to the National Archives would seriously interfere with the...

Written Answers — Departmental Guidelines: Departmental Guidelines (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department does not prescribe any special rules for the treatment of pregnant schoolgirls by school authorities. However, I expect that in dealing with any particular case, school management would have regard to the sensitivity of the situation and would have as its priority the well being of the pupil concerned. I would hope that pregnancy would cause no more than a temporary absence from...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: All recognised primary and post-primary schools are required to offer relationships and sexuality education, RSE. It is an integral part of the social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum at primary level and at junior cycle post-primary level. In addition, all schools are required to have an agreed school policy and a suitable relationships and sexuality education programme in...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As Minister for Education and Science, I am always concerned for the general welfare of children. Any experience that interferes with a child's potential for learning is of particular concern to me. The National Education Psychological Service, NEPS, of my Department provides an educational psychological service to primary and post-primary schools. The NEPS also supports all schools in the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is in receipt of an application for an extension at the school to which the Deputy refers. The long-term accommodation needs of the school are under review and further information is awaited from its authority to finalise this matter. Progress on the proposed works will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme from 2006 onwards. The school...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning. The school in question was listed in my announcement of April this year as a project to progress through architectural planning up to pre-tender stage, namely, up to and including advanced architectural planning. The letter referred to by the Deputy in January 2004 did give provision...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department. If the Deputy would like information on particular schools, I would be happy to provide it.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has implemented a rolling review, evaluation process and monitoring of the operation phase of the school bundle public private partnership project. This process takes the form of regular meetings with the school principals, both as a group and individually, regular meetings with Jarvis personnel and detailed reviews of the monthly reports for each school provided by Jarvis as...

Written Answers — Garda Vetting Procedures: Garda Vetting Procedures (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Ensuring the protection, health and welfare of children is a key concern for the Government, parents, agencies that work with children and society generally and I can assure the Deputy that the Government is determined to do all it can to keep our children and vulnerable adults safe. In the education sector, vetting is available in respect of prospective employees of children in detention...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A national curriculum in social, personal and health education, SPHE, incorporating relationships and sexuality education, has been developed at junior cycle level and been made mandatory for all schools with effect from September 2003. All schools are required to have an agreed school policy and a suitable relationships and sexuality education programme in place for senior cycle pupils....

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The issue of child protection and ensuring that all children in every primary school are aware of child protection issues are high priority areas for my Department. 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 with potentially abusive or threatening situations. However, it is also...

Leaders' Questions. (2 Nov 2005)

Mary Hanafin: It mentions a spend of €34.4 billion.

Written Answers — Early School Leavers: Early School Leavers (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Department's second report on school retention, published on 19 October 2005, is based on a detailed analysis of the records held in the post-primary pupils database for the cohort of entrants to the first year of the junior cycle in each of the years 1995 and 1996. The figures refer to retention in State-aided second level schools only and do not include students progressing to further...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 282 together. The higher education grants scheme operates under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992. An approved institution is defined to mean a university, college or other institution of higher education in so far as it provides a course or courses of not less than two years duration at postgraduate level, being a...

Written Answers — Inquiry into Child Abuse: Inquiry into Child Abuse (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Section 4 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 provides that in order for an institution to be placed on the Schedule to the Act the facility must have been subject to inspection or regulation by a public body. A total of 128 institutions are listed on the original Schedule to the Act. In November 2004 I signed an order for an additional 13 institutions to be placed on the...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The most recent data on primary school class sizes available to my Department relate to the 2004-05 school year and is provided in the accompanying table. These figures are provisional and do not include details of pupils in special schools or pupils in special classes in ordinary schools. Significant improvements have been made in the pupil-teacher ratio and in average class size in recent...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The general rule is that schools are staffed on the basis of having a maximum class size across the school of 29. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is often because a decision has been taken at local level to use the teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes. Major improvements in school staffing have been made in recent years with the...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (27 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The information is not readily available in the format requested by the Deputy. However if the Deputy requires information on individual schools in counties Sligo and north Leitrim, officials in the school planning and building unit of my Department will be happy to assist. The physical education curriculum has been designed on the basis that facilities in schools may vary. Many primary...