Results 17,641-17,660 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 705 and 709 together. The national youth work development plan, published in August 2003, identifies four main goals and proposes some 50 action points to achieve these goals over a five-year period. Work has commenced on certain priority areas as follows. 2003 an amount of â¬80,000 was allocated in 2003 to the implementation of the child protection training...
- Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Financial allocations for 2005 for the youth work sector are being finalised. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy de Valera, expects to be in a position to make an announcement in this respect in the near future. The respective bodies and organisations which receive grant-in-aid funding from the youth affairs section of my Department are required to...
- Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: This appointment is viewed as one of the key priorities for the youth sector. The appointment is subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance. My officials have made proposals to the Department of Finance for the appointment for which I have set aside up to â¬70,000. Subject to the Department of Finance response, I expect to be in a position to put recruitment procedures in place as...
- Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Further to Parliamentary Question No. 266 of March 23 2005, discussions have taken place between my Department and representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland and the IVEA-CEOs' association. These discussions are ongoing. A sub-committee of the national youth work advisory committee is drafting detailed guidelines and procedures necessary for the further roll-out of the Youth...
- Written Answers — Schools of Music: Schools of Music (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: On 3 December 2004, Jarvis, the appointed preferred bidder for the Cork School of Music PPP project, announced that it had reached an agreement with Hochtief Developments (UK) Limited to purchase the PPP bidding arm of its business. Following the announcement, various issues surrounding the purchase were being completed and a revised proposal and documentation in connection with the project...
- Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: All schools in County Clare have access to psychological assessments, either directly through the national educational psychological service for those schools served by national educational psychological service, or through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments for those that do not have national educational psychological service psychologists assigned to them. All schools...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The report of the task force on dyslexia contains over 60 individual recommendations ranging from identification and assessment, to models of service delivery, specialist training for service providers, to issues relating to structural reforms and the maintenance of a database of pupils with specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia, who are in receipt of special education services...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: It is not possible to inform the Deputy as to how many special needs assistants in County Clare will have their contracts renewed for the new school year. The retention of special needs assistants by schools can vary from school to school depending on the needs of the individual children and whether or not the children are due to leave school at the end of this school year. Responsibility for...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department had been engaged in discussions with the trade union representing special needs assistants, SNAs, under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, on a number of issues relating to the employment of SNAs, including the matter raised by the Deputy. These discussions have now concluded. One of the proposals that has been accepted by both parties is to agree to enter into...
- Written Answers — Legal Services: Legal Services (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department has an internal legal advisory section, headed by a barrister which provides much of the day to day legal services required by my Department. However, some legal work is outsourced and I will write to the Deputy providing information relevant to his request.
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Enrolment decisions are the responsibility of the board of management of each individual school. My Department has no role in respect of processing applications for enrolment by schools. Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 provides parents with an appeal process where a board of management of a school or a person acting on behalf of the board refuses enrolment to a student. Where a school...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Special needs assistants, SNAs, are assigned to schools to meet the care needs of individual children who have been assessed by a psychologist as needing this type of support. I can confirm that there has been no change to the criteria or guidelines for allocating SNA support to schools and I can further confirm that there are no plans to review the criteria or guidelines under which SNA...
- Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department has received a request to release my interest in a 99-year lease dated 12 January 1957 in the school premises referred to by the Deputy. As part of the process in assessing the matter, the future educational needs of the area will be taken into consideration. In addition there may also be a request for a refund of the unexpired value of any financial contribution my Department...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I have included the building project for the school in question in my recently announced list of school projects to be progressed through architectural planning in 2005. The building project is at advanced stage of architectural planning stage 4 to 5, that is, detail design and bill of quantities. The stage submission is currently with the Department and...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 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 then that every school...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The information sought by the Deputy is being compiled and will shortly be forwarded directly to him.
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The Department's records are held on a calendar year basis and the information which I am providing reflects that position. In the last five years my Department has spent â¬39.1million on the rental of temporary school premises. The breakdown of this expenditure by year is â¬4,002,339 in 2000, â¬6,039,060 in 2001, â¬8,402,140 in 2002, â¬9,329,997 in 2003 and â¬11,306,660 in 2004. This...
- Written Answers — Learning Difficulties: Learning Difficulties (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Terms such as "mild", "moderate" or "severe" reading difficulties are not defined in Irish research literature on reading attainment, in comparable international research literature or by my Department. In the absence of an operational definition of these terms, it is difficult to give a precise estimate of the number of pupils who might fall into these categories. It is crucial is that there...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 725 and 730 together. At second level, the overall whole-time equivalent number of teaching staff for the 1998 to 1999 school year was 23,435. The breakdown between the sectors is as follows: secondary 13,223; vocational 6,602; community 3,026 and comprehensive, 584. In the 2004 to 2005 school year, the overall whole-time equivalent number of teaching staff is...
- Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (28 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 726 and 727 together. The total expenditure on school transport services in 2004 was â¬109.845 million. The actual divide of expenditure between the primary and post-primary sectors is not readily available. The number of children availing of school transport to primary and post-primary schools in 2004 was 60,000 and 78,000 respectively. These are average...