Results 19,281-19,300 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy may be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which was established recently and which has been operational since 1 January 2005 is responsible for processing applications for special educational needs, SEN, supports. I understand that the school has submitted an application for special educational needs supports to the special education needs organiser, SENO,...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The application from the school referred to is at an early stage of architectural planning. The project was reassessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria which were revised following consultation with the education partners last year. The reassessment resulted in the project being prioritised as a band 3, rather than a band 4 project as had been assigned under the 2004...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for resource teaching support was received for the pupil referred to by the Deputy. Additional information was also submitted at a later date in support of the application. The application was considered and it was determined that the pupil's special educational needs, SEN, appear to be within the high incidence category. The school has the services of a shared learning support...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: For the purposes of post-primary education provision, the country is divided into catchment areas. Under the terms of the school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for school transport if he or she resides 4.8 kilometres or more from the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which he or she lives. Eligible pupils who wish to attend a post-primary centre other than the centre serving...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The school referred to by the Deputy has the services of two full-time learning support teachers, two full-time resource teachers and one shared resource teacher. The position with regard to the family referred to by the Deputy is that 3.5 hours resource teaching were sanctioned for one of the children on 4 February 2005. With regard to the application for resource teaching hours for the...

Written Answers — Education Schemes: Education Schemes (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The McIver report on the post-leaving certificate review was commissioned by my Department to examine the sector and make recommendations regarding the organisational, support, development, technical and administrative structures and resources required in schools and colleges with large-scale post-leaving certificate, PLC, provision, having regard to good practice in related areas across the...

Written Answers — Education Schemes: Education Schemes (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In the 2004-05 academic year, 28,500 PLC places were approved in schools and colleges throughout the country. The approval process for PLC places for the academic year 2005-06 will take account of enrolment trends, applications from VECs, schools and colleges for course approval and the totality of demands for courses and teaching resources across the system.

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: While my Department does not operate a specific national scheme for the provision of art therapy, it supports a range of programmes which target additional resources at pupils from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to facilitate their full participation in the education system. A total of 82 projects — 112 post-primary schools and 300 primary schools — participate in the school...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department is moving towards a model of devolving the responsibility for building projects to school management authorities, where appropriate. The devolving of funding to local level will accommodate school authorities to have responsibility and ownership of their building projects and assist in moving projects in a specific timeframe through the design process to tender action and...

Written Answers — Free Fees Initiative: Free Fees Initiative (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The main conditions of my Department's free fees initiative are that students must be first time undergraduates and hold EU nationality or official refugee status and have been ordinarily resident in an EU member state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Official refugees are eligible on the same residency terms as Irish nationals....

Written Answers — Ministerial Responsibilities: Ministerial Responsibilities (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: As Minister, I have responsibility for the performance of the functions of my Department in accordance with section 3 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. However, under section 4(1) of the Act, responsibility and accountability may be delegated to the Secretary General or Head of the Department to manage the Department's day-to-day business, to implement and monitor Government policies...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Adult education services are delivered locally by vocational education committees with funding from my Department. The Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Act 2001 has been applied to give part-time adult education workers pro rata equivalence with their full-time counterparts in remuneration and terms and conditions of service. The extension of the benefits of the Act to staff in grades...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has no record of an application for the provision of a physical education hall from the school authority in question. If the school wishes to make such an application, it will be considered in the context of the schools building and modernisation programme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The application from the school referred to is at an early stage of architectural planning. The project was reassessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria which were revised following consultation with the education partners last year. The reassessment resulted in the project being prioritised as a band 3, rather than a band 4, as had been assigned under the 2004 schools...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule agreed between my Department and the education partners. The system of allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class size of 29 in each school. Where classes in a school have sizes of greater...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The extension project at the school to which the Deputy refers has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria and is being considered in the context of the schools building and modernisation programme. I recently announced details of 43 school projects which are being authorised to proceed to architectural planning immediately. I will make further announcements on...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 611 and 612 together. On my appointment as Minister, I appointed a special adviser to my Department. I also assigned a principal officer from within my Department to act as policy co-ordinator. The duties of the special adviser are set out in the contract of employment for special advisors drawn up by the Department of Finance, which are "to perform any duties...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There is one primary school in Julianstown, namely, Whitecross national school. The average class size in the school is 25 pupils. The school authority has been given approval to rent two prefabricated classrooms from September 2005 to meet the immediate needs of the school. An application for a permanent extension to the school was recently received in the planning section of my Department...

Written Answers — Recreational Facilities Scheme: Recreational Facilities Scheme (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The funding for the upgrading of a playground or sports ground routinely falls under the scope of the summer works scheme. The scheme for summer 2005 has just finished and the list of successful schools was recently announced. However, it is open to the school authorities to apply under the summer works scheme 2006, details of which will be published in the coming months. In the case of a...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (22 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The special school attended by the person in question is not yet served by the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. Local inquiries made by NEPS indicate that the person is awaiting an up-to-date psychological assessment from the Western Care Association. The question of when that assessment can be arranged is a matter for the Western Care Association. However, if necessary, the...