Results 18,801-18,820 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The two go hand in hand. Before Christmas I launched the numeracy and literacy report on disadvantaged schools which looked at many of the schools with class sizes of 15 or 20 and which found that the literacy levels there had not improved because of other factors that impinged on the literacy levels of a child, mainly related to the literacy level of the family, whether the home had books,...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A number of factors feed into literacy levels. We accept that class size can make a difference at junior level. The INTO has also accepted that changes in teaching styles need to go hand in hand with class size reduction.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In achieving the Government target on smaller class sizes priority must, in the first instance, be given to children with special needs and those in disadvantaged areas. As I told the teacher conferences last month, it is in this area that I will be making significant progress initially, with extra staffing for disadvantaged schools in the next school year.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In recent years we have placed a particular focus on reducing class size in schools in disadvantaged areas. The 32 schools in the Breaking the Cycle programme operate to a maximum class size of 15 for junior classes. When the Giving Children an Even Break programme was launched in January 2001, it subsumed the previous process of designation of schools that served areas of educational...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The new action plan will build on the success of existing programmes, while addressing the issues that have diluted the overall effectiveness of some measures.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I will publish the action plan. We have had enough reviews.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Under the new plan, children from areas of socio-economic disadvantage will receive more support than ever before to help them reach their full potential. Every child deserves the opportunity to reach his or her potential and it is my aim, as Minister for Education and Science, to create the environment where that can be achieved. In the case of children with special needs, a particular...

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I accept what the Deputy said about the skills of our young people, particularly those who have participated in the Young Scientist of the Year exhibition, having been an exhibitor fadó, fadó.

Task Force on the Physical Sciences. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Their success in international competitions is certainly to their credit. Gaelscoil Colmcille decided to set up in a football club. If a school wants to establish itself in a football club, it must realise the restrictions under which it will have to operate. The building needs of that school are currently being considered. We are spending €500 million on the schools building programme this...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school completion programme, which was launched in 2002, incorporates the learning, experience and best practice derived from previous early school leaving initiatives, namely, the eight to 15 early school leaver initiative and the stay in school retention initiative. The programme is a key component of the Department's strategy to discriminate positively in favour of children and young...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy's last question would be more appropriately directed to the Department administering that programme. The money available under the programme is used to great advantage, as any of us who have been in schools would have seen. We have devised models of best practice for breakfast clubs, which provide that food is offered to all pupils in a class or in a school rather than targeting...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Much can be done to promote healthy eating. It is promoted in the schools through the SPHE programme through encouraging students to learn about nutrition and food at primary and post-primary level. Family support services do great work in this area. We have seen this in our communities with the implementation of initiatives such as the Springboard Project where families in very disadvantaged...

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The document has gone to the printer and for translation as a policy document. Caithfidh sé bheith ar fáil i nGaelige freisin. As soon as it is available I will launch it.

School Completion Programme. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: At the outset of my ministry I made it clear that each sector within the education system was important and it would be highly dangerous to ignore the third level sector in favour of any one of the other two sectors, because we need each of them for the future of society and the economy. My concentration continues to be on disadvantage and special needs. The amount of extra Exchequer spending...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In the five years to the end of 2004, my Department has spent €73.5 million on the purchase of prefabricated buildings in the primary and post-primary sectors. This expenditure was for the supply and installation of the prefabricated buildings, including associated site works and other costs such as for compliance with planning permission conditions, professional fees, connections for...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Expenditure on prefabricated buildings amounts to just 5% of the €1.6 billion spent in recent years. The measure is used to ensure a speedy response in growing areas in particular. Many of these buildings are used throughout the country for children with special needs. A number of them have a very long lifespan and are of very good quality. In many instances, one would not recognise that...

Leaders' Questions. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Not this week.

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Government has invested in the largest school building programme in the history of the State. Between 1998 and the end of 2004, almost €2 billion was invested in school buildings and approximately 7,500 large and small projects were completed in schools, including 130 new schools and 510 large-scale refurbishments and extensions. Funding for school building and renovation projects has...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There has been no change in the policy of supporting fee paying schools. Since the foundation of the State all parties and all Governments have supported such schools, largely to protect choice and the ethos of minorities. The change of policy in Fine Gael surprises me. Despite the operation of the same policy for 80 years, Fine Gael has now decided that schools should not receive moneys for...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Basically, this will penalise the Church of Ireland ethos, the Presbyterian ethos and the Jewish ethos, as these are the only schools in the country who receive funds for capitation and day-to-day expenses. This is a major change of policy on Fine Gael's part. However, there has been no change of policy in Fianna Fáil or the Government. We continue to pay the teachers of the fee paying...