Results 17,881-17,900 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has issued a letter to all primary schools notifying them of their teaching allocation under the new general allocation model for the 2005-06 school year. The letter also includes details of any clustering arrangements that may apply. One of the objectives of the general allocation model is to maximise the extent of full-time permanent posts available to support the needs of...

Written Answers — Schools Amalgamation: Schools Amalgamation (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is fully aware of the need to provide a solution to the long-term accommodation needs of the school referred to by the Deputy and is actively considering two options. The first option is the provision of a new school on a greenfield site. The property management section of the Office for Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in site acquisitions generally, has...

Written Answers — Irish Language Textbooks: Irish Language Textbooks (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am committed to ensuring that suitable high quality text books and teaching materials are developed specifically for use in Gaeltacht and other all-Irish schools. Under the Education Act 1998, An Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta was established in March 2002. One of the main objectives of the chomhairle is the planning and co-ordination of the provision of textbooks...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Enrolment decisions are the responsibility of the board of management of each individual school. My Department has no role in relation to 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 — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse is the only relevant inquiry in respect of my Department. Detailed information is being compiled and a comprehensive reply will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In general post-primary routes are planned so that no eligible pupil will have more than 3.2 kilometres to travel to a pick up point. In this case, the family referred to in the details supplied reside less than 3.2 kilometres from the present pick-up point. As this service is within the school transport scheme guidelines the present arrangement is the most that can be offered. There is...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: On foot of a Government decision, the then Minister for Education and Science formally established the State Examinations Commission on 6 March 2003. The commission now has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations and this includes the matter raised by the Deputy. I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the State Examinations Commission for...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has provided annual funding of €63,500 to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland since 1999. This funding has helped the association to operate an information service for members and the public. Part of this funding has assisted in meeting the costs associated with the attendance of some children from disadvantaged backgrounds at workshops and programmes organised by the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The report of the task force on dyslexia contains over 60 individual recommendations ranging across a wide variety of issues 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...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The accommodation needs of the school in question are being assessed by officials in the school planning section of my Department in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria which was revised following consultation with the education partners. When a final decision is taken on the matter, the question of the acquisition of a site will be considered.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The National Council for Special Education which became operational on 1 January 2005 now processes all applications for special educational needs supports. My officials will arrange to contact the local special needs organiser on the matter raised by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In 2001, costs amounted to €986,985.10. In 2002 costs amounted to €1,242,739.28. In 2003 costs amounted to €123,315.78. The drop in departmental expenditure was due to the establishment of the State Examinations Commission as an independent agency in March 2003. In 2004 costs amounted to €270,536.64, an increase due to the EU Presidency term. To date in 2005 costs amounted to...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 319 and 320 together. On foot of a Government decision, the then Minister for Education and Science formally established the State Examinations Commission on 6 March 2003. The commission now has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. This includes the matter raised by the Deputy. I have forwarded the question...

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: This issue goes to the heart of what the commission can and should be able to achieve. It was the view of the Government in establishing the commission that its inquiry should focus primarily on the wrong or malfunction in the system and not on individual wrongdoers. It should determine what happened at a general level rather than making findings of abuse in individual cases. It is not for...

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The commission and each of the committees has the power to invite further evidence from a person who has already appeared before or made a submission to it. As they already have that power, the amendment does not add anything.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: This education fund is worth €12.7 million. It is a substantial amount of money and it should go a long way to meeting the educational needs of the survivors and their families. The needs of each individual will be different so it would be wrong to specify in a narrow fashion which courses should be funded. The independent board will publish the criteria for the payment of grants and make...

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There is a review system within the board. Should someone not get satisfaction there, he or she can go to the Ombudsman. The board will have to compile an annual report, which must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. That will give us an opportunity to point out if the fund is being spent too quickly. Laying the report before the Houses gives us an extra safeguard.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I understand the appropriate way to make freedom of information provision is for the Department of Finance to include it on its list. As soon as the board has been established, we will ask the Department to include the board in the list of bodies covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Yes.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Hanafin: No. The appropriate mechanism to ensure the board is included is to request the Department of Finance to provide for its inclusion in the next list of additions to the Schedule to the Act. It will be done by statutory instrument rather than by primary legislation. A similar issue arose in the case of the Grangegorman Development Agency Bill. While individual Departments submit lists of bodies...