FG move for debate on special needs assistants defeated [IrishTimes]
- Published: 27 January 2010
SEANAD REPORT: THE DYSFUNCTIONAL system of governance in the North of Ireland was never going to work, a Government-supporting member maintained.
Fiona O’Malley said she did not wish to strike a discordant note but felt there was a need to give thought to what was happening. Every time there was a crisis the British and Irish governments attempted to sort matters out. How were locally elected representatives ever going to live up to their responsibilities if that continued to happen? “What I think it exposes [is] the inherent problem in the system of governance in the North of Ireland . . . as everyone knows the Westminster elections are coming up and that is what is foremost for politicians of that area . . . but this question of the dual mandate and the triple mandate, indeed, just shows how the North of Ireland is over governed.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Members tell of their hardship after pay cuts [Independent.ie]
- Published: 27 January 2010
Members of the Civil, Public and Services Union yesterday described the hardship they had suffered after the pension levy and pay cut reduced salaries by between 10pc and 13pc.
Staff officer Betty Tyrrell said she knew of six colleagues whose homes were being repossessed at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Mary Duffy, a clerical officer for the Department of Education in Tullamore, said she lost her home after her husband became unemployed.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
John Walshe : Suspicions linger that many don't actually need aid [Independent.ie]
- Published: 27 January 2010
GRANTS are usually decided on the basis of the previous year's income.
For most PAYE taxpayers it is a straightforward process. If they are under the income threshold, their children qualify. If they are over, then it is tough luck.
Generally, a family with one child in college will not get a full grant if it has a net income of more than €41,110 a year.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
WEST KERRY: 'Exceptional' number of teachers opt to retire [Independent.ie]
- Published: 27 January 2010
THE number of primary school teachers who retired in West Kerry last year was exceptionally high and a probable reflection of the increased stresses in the profession. That is the view of Seán Ó Catháin, the chairman of the Dingle branch of the INTO, who was speaking following the union's annual retirement function in Benners Hotel on Friday night. Around 90 people attended the event which marked the retirement of four local teachers, a schools' inspector and a schools'. psychologist.
Mr Ó Catháin told The Kerryman that it was unusual to have so many retirements in a single year.
7Full Story: www.independent.ie
Victory for Schools as Irish Independent Scraps Voucher Scheme [indymedia.ie]
- Published: 27 January 2010
Irish primary schools celebrated a victory this week as Independent Newspapers abandoned their “Building for the Future” scheme just weeks after its high-profile launch.
It is the first time a major in-school marketing promotion has been scrapped and is an embarrassing climb down for Independent and their co-sponsors Bank of Ireland.
Full Story: www.indymedia.ie
