Minister refuses to rule out further education cuts [Independent.ie]
- Published: 07 April 2010
Education cannot be sheltered from any further cuts, Education Minister Mary Coughlan warned yesterday.
She said it would be dishonest to say otherwise, given that the bulk of public spending was accounted for by health, education and welfare.
"The reality is that this country will have less to spend on public services for the foreseeable future. This is a fact and we cannot afford to underestimate the challenge it will pose," she told the INTO congress in Galway, where a minority of delegates heckled and booed her speech.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Lise Hand: Mutinous muinteoiri have the knives out for Machete Mary [Independent.ie]
- Published: 07 April 2010
TEACHERS can't help themselves, really. They just don't do pithy and precise, as anyone who ever clock-watched their way through a sunny Friday afternoon in a stuffy classroom can attest.
And so when the new head girl Mary Coughlan arrived into the belly of the INTO beast in Galway's Salthill Hotel yesterday morning, she was greeted with a forest of yellow placards inscribed with various slogans.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Minister for Education backs maths bonus points [Siliconrepublic.com]
- Published: 07 April 2010
Speaking at the TUI conference in Ennis earlier today, Minister for Education Mary Coughlan recommended the re-introduction of bonus points for honours level maths as a part of the innovation nation strategy.
“They know the time and effort versus reward matrix associated with taking honours maths in the context of the CAO points system,” said Coughlan.
Full Story: www.siliconrepublic.com
No easy options and education cannot be sheltered from cuts, says Coughlan [IrishTimes]
- Published: 07 April 2010
MINISTER'S SPEECH: THE STATE will have less to spend on public services for the foreseeable future but there were “no easy options and no easy decisions” in working to safeguard the economy and the banking system, Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan told INTO delegates yesterday.
Amid some heckles and booing from a minority of delegates, Ms Coughlan said the Government viewed the proposed deal on public service reform and pay as a “reasonable basis to move forward”. But she had no intention of interfering with internal union debates on the issue.
The Minister acknowledged it was not possible to shelter education completely from any further spending cuts. “For me to do so would be dishonest, given that the bulk of public expenditure is accounted for by health, education and welfare.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Emotions run high as pay deal narrowly backed [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 07 April 2010
AS primary teachers narrowly backed their union leaders’ endorsement of the public service pay deal, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan yesterday promised she would not be "taking a machete" to teacher contracts.
The debate among INTO delegates on the controversial public service and reform deal was held in private as emotions ran high over the proposals, which would require an extra hour’s work per week and greater availability for supervision and substitution.
There is also rising concern that the proposed review of teachers’ contracts from primary to third-level could give the Department of Education a carte-blanche to change their terms and conditions, as well as weaken pensions for future entrants to the profession.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
