Coughlan tells education sector to prepare for cuts [IrishTimes]
- Published: 17 September 2010
MINISTER FOR Education Mary Coughlan has told the education sector to prepare for cuts in the forthcoming budget.
The sector will have to do more with less, she said, despite the projected boom in school numbers.
Ms Coughlan hinted that support and back-up services would be vulnerable to cost savings. But she also signalled there may be no more cuts in third-level staffing, over and above the cumulative 6 per cent cut which will be imposed on the sector by the end of 2010.
Ms Coughlan has little room for manoeuvre as she seeks cuts in the €9 billion education budget. Pay and pensions account for some 80 per cent of current spending, but the Croke Park deal and the agreement with the Greens to maintain class size means there is little scope for extra savings.
In the medium term, she said, there would continue to be significant constraints on the level of resources available for education.
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