Results 17,521-17,540 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A new general allocation scheme has been announced under which schools will be 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. The local special educational needs organiser has determined that the special educational needs of the pupil in question fall...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The vocational training opportunities scheme is managed by the vocational education committees. Teachers who deliver the programme are employees of the relevant vocational education committees. Accordingly, questions relating to the pay of an individual teacher in the scheme should be addressed to the employing vocational education committee.

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The legislation which prohibits dual local authority and parliamentary membership is the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government (No. 2) Act 2003. This legislation is the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Under the 2001 Act, a local authority, for these purposes, is defined as meaning a county council, city council or town...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: School facilities should be available to the community outside of school hours — whether for child care, adult education courses or as somewhere for local community groups to meet — provided this is feasible. My Department issued a circular to the trustees, boards of management and principals of primary and voluntary secondary schools in March encouraging them to make their facilities...

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Third level institutions are autonomous bodies and can determine the level of tuition fees to be charged for postgraduate courses. My Department does not have a role in determining the level of these fees. It should be remembered that students on maintenance grants are eligible to carry their grants through to postgraduate level.

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Significant improvements have been made in the pupil-teacher ratio and in average class size in recent years. The average class size at primary level is now 23:9, down from 26:6 in 1996-97. The pupil-teacher ratio, which includes all the teachers including resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in 2003-04. Over 4,000 additional teachers have been...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In recent years, many improvements have been made to enable principal teachers in primary schools to perform their administrative duties. Until the 1999-2000 school year, principals were released from teaching duties to become administrative principals where the school had a staffing of eight or more mainstream class teachers. From the commencement of the 2000-01 school year, administrative...

Written Answers — School Completion Programme: School Completion Programme (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The new action plan for educational inclusion, Delivering Equality Of Opportunity In Schools, which I launched recently provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated school support programme which will bring together and build upon several existing interventions for schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage. The new action plan will be...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I will arrange for a response to be forwarded to the Deputy at an early date.

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule, agreed by my Department and the education partners. The recruitment and appointment of teaching staff to a primary school is the responsibility of each individual board of management. Any decision to recruit and employ additional...

Written Answers — Third Level Institutions: Third Level Institutions (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 and 429 together. The report of the capital review and prioritisation working group under the Higher Education Authority, which was published last year, sets out a strategy to meet the future capital needs of the third level sector. In its submission to the review group, Tipperary rural and business development institute included a proposal to develop a...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 427 and 428 together. The loading of all school buses is determined by the relevant sections of the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, which are laid down by the Department of Transport. The licensed carrying capacity of all vehicles engaged in school transport is based on a ratio of three pupils for every two adult seats,...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I will await the outcome of the investigation being carried out into the circumstances of the accident referred to by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 169 answered on 16 June 2005, the Office of Public Works is continuing, in consultation with the local authority, to explore all possibilities regarding the acquisition of a site for a new national school building for the area in question. That office is fully aware of the archaeological report pertaining to the area and is making every effort, in...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 432 and 464 together. My Department's third level student maintenance grant schemes were extended to provide maintenance grants to eligible students pursuing approved full-time undergraduate courses of at least two years duration, pursued in a university or a third level institution which is maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from public funds, in...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 433 and 462 together. My Department is acutely aware of the urgent need for an accommodation solution for this school particularly given the limitations on the existing arrangement and my Department is doing its utmost to achieve a satisfactory outcome at the earliest possible date. To that end, the property management section of the Office of Public Works has...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for a new school has been received from the management authorities of the school referred to by the Deputy and has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which was revised following consultation with the education partners. The proposed project at the school referred to will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy is aware, a new scheme for allocating resource teachers to schools to cater for the needs of children with high incidence special needs and learning support needs, was announced last month. The reason for the new scheme is simple. Children with special needs such as dyslexia or mild learning difficulties are found in almost every school. It makes sense that every school should...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for an extension has been received from the management authorities of the school referred to by the Deputy and has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria, which was revised following consultation with the education partners. The proposed project at the school referred to will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation...

Written Answers — Ministerial Orders: Ministerial Orders (29 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: All primary and secondary legislation brought forward by my Department is prepared initially by an internal legal services section. It is then sent to the office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government for drafting. In this way it is examined by both in-house and external lawyers who take account of relevant case law and the scope of ministerial powers as set down by statute.