Results 17,061-17,080 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I take it the Deputy is referring to special educational needs organisers. Special educational needs organisers are employed by the National Council for Special Education which is an independent statutory agency established under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. Special educational needs organisers are deployed throughout the State by the National Council for...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 455 and 457 together. Institutes of technology are statutory bodies established under the Regional Technical Colleges Acts 1992 to 2001. Under these Acts, the governance and day-to-day activities of the institutes are matters for which the governing bodies and the management staff of the institutes are responsible. The Department of Education and Science does...

Written Answers — Building Contracts: Building Contracts (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is being collated within my Department and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Section 4 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 provides that in order for an institution to be considered for inclusion in the Schedule to the Act, the facility must have been subject to regulation or inspection by a public body. Officials of my Department consulted with the Department of Health and Children regarding the unit referred to by the Deputy so that records held at that...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: It is difficult to give the precise number of applicants for catchment boundary or concessionary transport who failed to secure a place for a number of reasons. In the first instance, a large number of families do not submit remittances until very shortly before, or even after the new school year is under way. In addition, a large number of new applications on behalf of eligible children,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There are two types of assessment which could arise under my Department's remit in a case of this nature — an assessment by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), or an assessment of needs by the National Council for Special Education. The school attended by the pupil in question has an assigned NEPS psychologist. I understand that the school principal has already discussed...

Written Answers — Youthreach Programme: Youthreach Programme (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: At present, the Department has approved 109 training places in County Offaly. The vocational education committee has allocated the places under the Youthreach and senior traveller training programmes for early school leavers. These places are distributed by the County Offaly VEC as follows: Youthreach has 25 places in Clara and 25 places in Edenderry; Traveller training has 35 places in...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Grangegorman is a unique site and is of strategic importance in the context of Dublin as a whole and to the north inner city in particular. The principal functions of the Grangegorman Development Agency include, inter alia, the promotion of the Grangegorman site as a location for education, health and other facilities, the co-ordination of the development or re-development of the site,...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for additional accommodation for September 2005 was received from the school to which the Deputy refers. This application was unsuccessful as the school is accommodated in a mainstream post-primary school in which enrolments have fallen. Therefore, it was considered that appropriate accommodation was available for use by the school in question. With regard to the issue of...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware that the allocation of resource teaching hours to schools to meet the needs of children with low incidence special needs is based on the individually assessed needs of these pupils. Hours are sanctioned for these children by the local special educational needs organiser who then informs my Department of the allocations. As many additional allocations will have been...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning. My officials are in the process of examining a recently received stage 1 submission, which is for site suitability and site analysis and, when this examination is completed, will be in contact with the school authority with regard to the next steps involved in progressing this...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, a new general allocation scheme has been announced under which schools have been provided with learning support-resource teaching, LS-RT hours, based on their enrolment figures, to cater for pupils with high incidence special educational needs such as dyslexia and those with learning support needs. According to my Department's records, the general allocation for the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a new eight-classroom school was delivered for the north Kildare school project in 2003. My Department does not have an application from the school for any extra facilities.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 468, 469, 471, 472 and 484 together. As the Deputy may be aware, following widespread local consultation, my Department recently published an area development plan for the N4-M4 corridor. This plan outlines my Department's long-term educational strategy at both primary and post-primary level for the Celbridge, Maynooth, Leixlip, Kilcock and Straffan areas. The...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 470, 473, 474 and 498 together. I am aware that Clane, Prosperous, Sallins, Naas and Kill, like many areas located within close proximity to Dublin, continue to experience population growth, a position that almost inevitably places some strain on existing educational provision. However, a range of significant measures has been undertaken by my Department to...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of the Department of Education and Science regarding site acquisitions generally, is continuing, in consultation with the local authority, to explore all possibilities in relation to the acquisition of a site for a new national school in Kill. Every effort is being made to ensure that a site is acquired as...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a new eight-classroom building for the school in question has just been completed. My Department has no request for any additional facilities for this school.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As part of the expansion of the devolved scheme for primary school building works, a grant of €250,000 was sanctioned to enable the management authorities of the school in question to provide additional accommodation. The initiative allows boards of management to address their accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives boards of management control of...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 478, 480, 481, 483 and 490 together. The school planning section of my Department is in receipt of applications for major capital funding from the management authorities of the schools to which the Deputy refers. The applications have been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large-scale projects. Progress on the proposed works...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (11 Oct 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has not received an application from the school in question for any additional accommodation.