Results 19,461-19,480 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Section 4 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 enables additional institutions, in which children were placed and resident, and in respect of which a public body had a regulatory or inspection function, to be added to the Schedule to the Act. Since enactment of the legislation, my Department has received correspondence from individual and survivor groups identifying a number of...

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Institutions included on the list must be identified as reformatory schools, industrial schools, orphanages, children's homes and special schools in which children are placed and resident. A key feature is that a public body had to have a regulatory or inspection function. In many cases, we are still trying to identify whether the State or a public body had a regulatory function and,...

Schools Building Projects. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: It is the policy of my Department to provide a permanent accommodation solution in so far as possible to meet the demands presenting for schools in areas of major population growth. However, the time span involved in architectural design and obtaining planning permission processes effectively means that in all instances it may not be possible to provide a permanent accommodation solution as...

Schools Building Projects. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The demographics for some of the areas around Dublin reached their projected numbers years in advance of the dates given in the census. For that reason five new primary schools in Kildare have been recognised, three in Meath and two in Dublin, of the counties the Deputy mentioned. This is the type of initiative we take as an immediate response. The Deputy mentioned Ratoath where an extension...

Schools Building Projects. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I do not wish to speak about any one school. I would not envisage a ten year wait for a school that is recognised. The funding for this year alone for the schools' modernisation and building programme is €493 million of which €270 million will go into primary schools. Is the Deputy referring to the Johnstown, Kill school?

Schools Building Projects. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There are problems regarding sites which are tied up with rezoning. I have witnessed situations where the politicians calling for new schools vote against the rezoning of the only available site in the area. There are planning issues and problems of infrastructure, development and provision. I do not envisage any delay for new schools because they get priority 1 status.

Special Educational Needs. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: In light of the reality that pupils in the high incidence disability categories of mild and borderline mild general learning disability and dyslexia are distributed throughout the education system my Department, in consultation with educational interests, developed a general model of resource teacher allocation to schools to support students in these disability categories. My predecessor,...

Special Educational Needs. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I met the principal of the school to which Deputy O'Sullivan referred and also the principals and boards of management representing schools in west Limerick. I was happy to receive submissions from various groups to revise our thinking on the matter. I always believe in listening to people. I have received recommendations from organisations such as the National Council for Special Education...

Special Educational Needs. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: There are many instances where principals must decide on the deployment of resources. We appointed 2,600 additional resource teachers in recent years to deal with the issues and difficulties to which we have referred. A child who has a specific need and who falls within the low incidence or more severe category will continue to get exactly what was allocated to him or her. What we are talking...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The system for allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class of 29 in each school. While some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use their teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes. The Deputy should note that significant improvements have been...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy referred to international evidence on smaller class sizes and the Government accepts that smaller class sizes at junior level can make a difference. There is no evidence, however, to show that smaller class sizes further up the line can make a real difference to educational achievement. The international level was recently cited by the INTO in its magazine in an article that also...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The same tables also show that educational achievement in Ireland is much higher than in those states with smaller class sizes.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: That bears out that class size is not the only contributor to educational achievement. It remains our aim and part of the programme for Government but it will be done in the context of targeting those most in need with teachers and available resources.

Bullying in Schools. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I assure the Deputy that I am acutely aware of the issue of bullying in schools and my Department has in place a multifaceted strategy to tackle the issue. The education of students in both primary and post-primary schools in anti-bullying behaviour is a central part of the social, personal and health education curriculum. SPHE is now a compulsory subject both at primary level and in the...

Bullying in Schools. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I personally have noticed a distinct change since I was a Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science with special responsibility for children on the whole issue of bullying. When I visited schools then, bullying was the number one issue but now in any of my dealings with the children whom we have consulted it does not come up as an issue. That is striking and the reason for...

Bullying in Schools. (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: No. This is as a result of the various policies, seminars, guidelines that have been issued, the pilot projects that exist and the fact that all schools are now required to have an anti-bullying policy. The best way to deal with this is in the context of the code of behaviour of the individual school which would be signed up to by staff, parents and children. That makes the penalties and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 380 and 412 together. My Department has provided annual funding of €63,500 to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland since 1999. I understand this funding has helped the association to operate an information service for members and the public. In addition, it is understood that part of this funding has assisted in meeting the costs associated with the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: The joint launch last September by my predecessor and the Minister with responsibility for education in Northern Ireland of the Middletown Centre for Autism marked the successful completion of the purchase of the former St. Joseph's Adolescent Centre, Middletown, County Armagh, on behalf of the Department of Education in the North and the Department of Education and Science in the South. Both...

Written Answers — Voluntary Contributions: Voluntary Contributions (8 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: Voluntary contributions by parents of pupils in recognised primary schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition. The manner in which such voluntary contributions are sought and collected is a matter for school management. However, their...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2005)

Mary Hanafin: An application for special needs assistant support from the school in question was received in my Department. A review of the existing level of SNA support in the school has recently been completed and a decision on the application will be conveyed to the school shortly.