Results 18,821-18,840 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There will be no change in the policy of paying teachers' salaries in fee paying schools at second level. Those teachers would have to be paid, irrespective of which school those children attended.

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There is no change in policy in that regard. Only ten of the almost 1,200 school projects which are being funded for building this year are for fee paying schools. A number of them are for Protestant schools which receive 100% grants anyway. The announcement made last week did not concern schools that will be going to tender or construction this week. It only concerned those moving forward to...

Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Each school and each board of management is responsible for its own enrolment policy, as the Deputy is well aware.

School Staffing. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the decreasing number of males entering the teaching profession and I know that the situation is particularly acute at primary level. The relatively low number of males in the teaching force is a feature common to all OECD countries. OECD statistics show the situation in Ireland to be close to the OECD average. It is important to attract more men into teaching for a number of...

School Staffing. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I am not sure if there is any connection between boys doing honours Irish for the leaving certificate and their subsequent entry into the training colleges. It is useful to look at the numbers across both sectors, as Deputy O'Sullivan has done. For example, when the appointment of teachers at primary school last year is considered, 1,213 female teachers were appointed and only 144 male...

School Staffing. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Deputy O'Sullivan is quite mistaken in thinking I am opposed to changing the curriculum. The curriculum needs to be constantly updated and to respond to societal changes. We need to examine the entry-points rating of teacher training colleges in the context of the question. The entry points rating is not prohibitively high. The dearth of men in teacher training colleges has more to do with...

Special Educational Needs. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 395 together. The advisory committee for the deaf and hard of hearing was established in December 2001. The committee held 38 meetings over a three-year period as well as a number of other meetings at subcommittee stage. However, from an early stage in the committee's deliberations it became apparent that there were entrenched, divergent views among...

Special Educational Needs. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: After three years, it was evident the differences between the two groups on the committee were not only insurmountable but historical and deeply felt. At no stage was there any possibility of progress being made. Even if things were agreed at the subcommittee level, differences emerged once decisions were brought back to plenary level. There are two very fundamental differences between the...

Irish Language. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The recent report of the Irish Language Commissioner highlighted the fact that despite appreciable time devoted to Irish in the school system, many students emerge from primary and post-primary education without achieving a reasonable command of the language. Particular concerns were raised about students' command of the spoken language. While I accept that the standard of oral Irish in...

Irish Language. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I have no plans to change the mandatory nature as it is important that people should learn their native language at all levels of the education system. On the matter of the overall environment, Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann and other language groups have made it clear that the learning of a second language in school cannot flourish in the absence of environmental supports. As any...

Higher Education Grants. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The most recent data on participation rates at third level is that published in the HEA review of higher education participation in 2003, which showed that participation in higher education among the school leaver age cohort has passed the 50% mark for the first time. The study puts the overall transfer rate to higher education in 2003 at 54%, as opposed to 44% in 1998, 36% in 1992, 25% in...

Higher Education Grants. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I understand the number of people in receipt of third level grants and benefiting under the schemes is 56,000. The amount of money involved in this has increased substantially. The HEA and my Department are working on a comprehensive computerised student records system that will not only deal with the numbers of people but their social profiles and the educational courses they are following....

Higher Education Grants. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: When one looks at the profile, one finds the rate of participation among people in working class, or even middle class, Dublin in the grant schemes is not as great as that in rural areas. As I said before, the widow in the large house in Dún Laoghaire who has no money——

Higher Education Grants. (26 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The capital value of her home might be considerable but one cannot expect her to sell her house to send her child to college. These issues must be balanced against the farmer with a lot of land. It is an issue we must examine carefully. I am more anxious to move ahead to find a system which would streamline the administration of the grant system in a fair way because it is being dealt with by...

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

Mary Hanafin: The Department of Education and Science continues to progress the recommendations of the task force on the physical sciences as resources permit in collaboration and consultation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Forfás and industry. One of the recommendations in that report was the appointment of a chief scientist who would have responsibility for overseeing...

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

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy began by saying a number of different bodies were dealing with this issue and then went on to suggest there should be another body.

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

Mary Hanafin: I do not believe we need another implementation group when we already have the Cabinet sub-committee, a chief science adviser, a deputy chief science adviser and an interdepartmental committee for science, technology and innovation. I will certainly not add another layer to look at this issue. It is important to look at the teaching of science in schools. The numbers taking science subjects...

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

Mary Hanafin: New schools and major extensions get such funding. In addition, curricular change is included under the summer works scheme and schools can get laboratories under that. We spent €60 million on summer works this year but I hope next year we will be able to do more under curricular work as well.

Written Answers — Public Capital Programme: Public Capital Programme (21 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: A total of 35 school building projects with a construction cost in excess of €5 million was undertaken during the last five years. The detailed information requested by the Deputy in relation to each project is not readily available in the format requested and the compilation of such data would require the diversion of staff resources. However, if the Deputy has a query in respect of a...

Written Answers — Public Capital Programme: Public Capital Programme (21 Apr 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The current five year capital envelope provides for investment of €3.4 billion to 2009. It will be necessary as a minimum to sustain that level of investment for the following five year period to 2014 in order to address the infrastructure deficit at all levels of the education system and to meet emerging needs. My Department is working on a continuous basis to estimate future requirements...