Results 18,141-18,160 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Schools Building Projects. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I would not like the Deputy to leave with the impression that a commitment has been given that a school in bricks and mortar could be built on a site which has not yet even been acquired.
- Schools Building Projects. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: In the first instance a site must be acquired.
- Schools Building Projects. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My information is that soil sampling is being undertaken. Given the difficulties that have been experienced in Mayo in recent years regarding soil it might be very wise of the OPW to carry out soil sampling before we would even consider putting a building on a site. I recognise the needs of the school. The building programme for the next five years has a capital allocation of â¬3.5 billion....
- Special Educational Needs. (14 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...
- Special Educational Needs. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I will start with the final question. The temporary teachers will be in the system as long as the individual child who has the individual allocation is in the primary school. Only when the child leaves will the hours be lost to the school. The children in the low-incidence category, that is, those with a more severe disability, are dealt with through a process that is entirely separate to...
- Multi-Denominational Schools. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: On 10 March last, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination did not issue a judgment imposing an obligation on the Irish State to promote the establishment of multi-denominational schools. Rather, the committee encouraged Ireland to promote the establishment of non-denominational or multi-denominational schools. The committee recommended that this matter be...
- Multi-Denominational Schools. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Of course I recognise the changing face of Ireland and the trends as indicated in the census in terms of multi-denominational and multi-ethnic considerations. Obviously there is a demand for diversity in education. Despite the fact that we have had multi-denominational education in this country for a number of years, there is no evidence that any of these children are being excluded from the...
- Multi-Denominational Schools. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I accept that. I suppose that is why multi-denominational education is one of the fastest growing sectors and why all of the applications from Educate Together have been accepted and promoted. The reality, however, is that Educate Together as a body, was funded by philanthropists for a number of years to the tune of â¬500.000. There is absolutely no prospect that the Department will be able...
- Multi-Denominational Schools. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Perhaps Educate Together might be able to get it from a different source as well. From the viewpoint of my Department they are all being treated on an equitable basis. The only sector to get a greater amount of money is the Catholic management area, which accounts for move than 2,900 schools, while Educate Together will have 35 in the coming months. While I naturally acknowledge the demand...
- Multi-Denominational Schools. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: In brief informal discussions which I had with the presidents of the training colleges, they both advised me that they are cognisant of the fact that a number of their graduates will go on to work in Educate Together schools, in multi-denominational situations. They are taking that on board in the training of their students as well as preparing others for the gaelscoileanna. They are...
- Higher Education Grants. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: As I indicated in my reply of 26 April 2005 to Parliamentary Question No. 70, the administration of student support schemes is complex and resource intensive involving the processing and assessment of applications and resulting in the payment of grants to more than 56,000 students annually. Expenditure in 2004 was almost â¬203 million. Student support is provided through three means-tested...
- Higher Education Grants. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I do not have a more recent socio-economic breakdown. It would be much easier to get that type of information if one body was responsible for collating it. However, that there are so many different groups with so many different schemes and grants makes it very difficult to collate such information. That is why I am determined to move ahead with this. We have already discussed in the House the...
- Higher Education Grants. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: Our discussions with the Department of Social and Family Affairs would indicate that it will not end up there. It is important, anyway, that it should be closely linked to the Department of Education and Science. At this stage, I do not envisage the Department taking responsibility for it. Other groups such as the IVEA and the local authorities, are currently responsible for some of the...
- Higher Education Grants. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The legislation will provide for the unification of the scheme. Obviously, it would not be appropriate to be too prescriptive in legislation as it would need to be amended each time one wanted to change limits, ages and so forth. It is not envisaged, therefore, that such issues will be part of the legislation. We are conscious, however, that times are changing and different needs must be...
- Higher Education Grants. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: There is no doubt that some councils and VECs are much better than others in this regard. Students have been left waiting even beyond Christmas for the initial grant. When I told one student president that I was aware of a student who, in years gone by, survived in Letterkenny on porridge from October to Christmas, he told me students are surviving on pasta which one can now buy for â¬5 for...
- Third Level Funding. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: As I announced in April, the Government has approved the establishment of a strategic innovation fund which aims to encourage reform and capacity building in the higher education sector in accordance with the recent recommendations of the OECD review of higher education. The fund will promote inter-institutional collaboration to achieve a system-wide approach to supporting wider national...
- Third Level Funding. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The Higher Education Authority has established the process of attracting and seeking submissions. It will be for the authority, bearing in mind Government priorities and the priorities I have set out, to allocate the funding. I am satisfied that different faculties were included in the distribution of funding for the PRTLI and that there was no question of any social element being excluded....
- School Accommodation. (14 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: My Department's records are held on a calendar year basis rather than by academic year and the information which I am providing reflects that position. Since the start of 2004, my Department has spent â¬9.9 million on the purchase of prefabricated buildings at primary level. This expenditure was for the supply and installation of prefabricated buildings, including associated site works and...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (2 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy may be aware that a review has been conducted in recent months to establish whether primary schools have the level of special needs assistant, SNA, support that they need for children in their care, whether they have resources which they no longer need or whether they need extra resources. The review has found that some schools no longer have the care needs for which the SNA was...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (2 Jun 2005)
Mary Hanafin: I assume the Deputy is referring to the positions of special needs assistants which are allocated to schools to meet the care needs of children with special needs. My Department has undertaken a review of the number of special needs assistants in our primary schools to ensure that they have the right level of support to meet the assessed needs of their pupils. This review found that some...