Results 17,321-17,340 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Education Services: Education Services (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The matter that the Deputy refers to concerns the report on the internationalisation of Irish education services which was published in November 2004. My Department is continuing a consultation process with the main stakeholders in the sector with a view to informing the implementation process and the preparation of the necessary legislation to establish the new body, Education Ireland, which...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The new school building referred to by the Deputy was listed to proceed to tender and construction as part of the 2004 school building programme. The design work on the project has been completed, however, progress on the next stages, tendering-construction work, must await resolution of legal issues regarding the site. The site for the school is being acquired by my Department under the...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Bus Éireann has confirmed to my Department that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is fully eligible for school transport and that a ticket has recently been issued to her on this basis.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school planning section of my Department is in receipt of an application for major capital funding from the management authority of the school to which the Deputy refers. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale projects. Progress on the proposed works is being considered in the context of the school building and...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school planning section of my Department is in receipt of an application for major capital funding from the management authority of the school to which the Deputy refers. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large-scale projects. Progress on the proposed works is being considered in the context of the school building and...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The organisation of classes within a school is a matter for the school authorities, which may choose to amalgamate pupils from different standards where it is deemed appropriate. Multi-standard class-groupings are unavoidable in a school of less than eight mainstream class teachers, such as the school to which the Deputy refers. The Deputy should note that, even in a class where the pupils...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Bus Éireann has confirmed that the provision of school transport to the school referred to by the Deputy was withdrawn in 2002 as no eligible pupils were offering for transport. In the event that an application is received in the future, it will be considered subject to the prescribed terms and conditions of my Department's school transport scheme. In relation to the specific family referred...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In the last seven years my Department has spent €42.8 million on the rental of temporary school accommodation, mainly in primary schools, see following table for breakdown by year. However, the information is not readily available in the format requested by the Deputy as the financial records maintained for expenditure on temporary school accommodation is not separated into categories...

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has since 1998 issued a number of grants to recognised first and second level schools, under the Schools IT2000 and Blueprint for the Future of ICT in Education initiatives, to assist in the development of school ICT infrastructure. These grants were expended according to development priorities set locally by school authorities in their school ICT plan and as such neither...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Officials in the school planning section of my Department are considering two options as possible solutions to the long term accommodation needs of the school in question. The first option is the provision of a new school on a greenfield site. The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, has...

Written Answers — Schools Amalgamation: Schools Amalgamation (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Officials in the school planning section of my Department are in ongoing discussions with the management authorities of the schools to which the Deputy refers regarding a possible amalgamation. My Department is making every effort to facilitate the process in question. Due to the requirement for sensitivity and confidentiality in relation to these discussions, it would not be appropriate to...

Written Answers — Schools Recognition: Schools Recognition (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I can confirm that the school planning section of my Department is in receipt of correspondence in relation to the possible establishment of an all-Irish post-primary school in the area to which the Deputy refers. The school planning section wrote to the proposers last July seeking clarification on the proposal. This clarification is now to hand and the matter is being considered in the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, a new general allocation system has been announced under which schools have been provided with resource teaching hours, based on their enrolment figures, to cater for children with high incidence special needs such as dyslexia and those with learning support needs. My officials have been in contact with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which has...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Under the terms of my Department's 2005 third level student maintenance grant schemes the position is that, generally speaking, students who are entering approved courses for the first time are eligible for grants where they satisfy the prescribed conditions with regard to age, residence, means, nationality and previous academic attainment. A mature candidate is defined as a student who is at...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I wish to confirm for the Deputy that the local special educational needs organiser, SENO, has confirmed that there are no applications in hand for additional special needs assistant, SNA, support in the school in question. Therefore, as the pupils being catered for by the SNAs in question have left the school, there is no provision under which the SNAs can be retained and the board of...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Primary and post-primary pupils who are ineligible for school transport on the basis of the distance requirement may be offered transport on a concessionary fare-paying basis. Such pupils are not guaranteed school transport for every year of their schooling, rather the granting of such concessionary transport is dependent on the availability of additional capacity on the buses used to...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I have made arrangements to have the information requested to be forwarded directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for a new school building has been received from the management authority of the school referred to by the Deputy. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria which was revised last year following consultation with the education partners. The project is being considered for progression in the context of the school building and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department sanctioned a special class for autism at the school in question. A letter confirming the sanction issued to the school on 2 June 2005. Furthermore a detailed letter also issued to the school on 6 September 2005 from the special education section outlining the Department's response to various issues that the school had raised with it. In...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (28 Sep 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The scope of work referred to by the Deputy is appropriate for consideration under the summer works scheme, SWS. Details of the SWS for 2006 were recently advertised and the closing date for receipt of completed applications is 14 October 2005.