Councils must work with schools to reduce water charge burden [labour.ie]
- Published: 13 December 2009
Labour Party Education Spokesperson Ruairi Quinn TD has written to every Labour Party Councillor in the country to ensure that schools will receive help from their local authorities to reduce their water consumption. The 1st of January 2010 will see the start of metered water charging in every school across the country. Based on a Labour Party survey of water charges in each local authority area, schools could face an average increase of 100% in their water bills.
Full Story: www.labour.ie
Infrastructure projects slashed for 2010 [thepost.ie]
- Published: 13 December 2009
The country will see few large infrastructure projects start next year as almost €1 billion was shaved off the capital spend in last week’s budget.
The exchequer capital programme will be €6.445 billion next year, nearly 12 per cent less than the amount invested in 2009. The government has also indicated that it will invest €5.5 billion up to 2016 in major National Development Plan (NDP) projects. New roads and rail lines, hospitals and schools are likely to take up a sizeable chunk of these funds.
Full Story: www.thepost.ie
In time we'll learn to thank union bosses for making a balls of the talks [Independent.ie]
- Published: 13 December 2009
While public sector union bosses seemed like broken men and women for a day or two there, they got back into action as the week went on. Their super rich -- by their own definition -- salaries won't justify themselves now will they?
The first job at hand was to rewrite history. Having made such a balls, on behalf of their members, of the pay negotiations, before they could start putting their shattered careers and reputations back together, the first thing the union bosses needed to establish was that what happened didn't happen. So the line now is that the Government walked away from a perfectly reasonable deal, that the Government never wanted to do a deal in the first place, that political expedience caused them to abandon the unions amidst "hysteria".
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Making science 'cool' is crucial to economy [Independent.ie]
- Published: 13 December 2009
DESPITE a record number of entries for next January's Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, education cutbacks now threaten to send the numbers plummeting again, adding to the already declining numbers of Leaving Cert students taking science and higher-level maths.
Although attempts were made to engage students' interest through the theme of the kinds of forensic science portrayed in the CSI TV series, there seems to be a never-ending queue of critics -- the most recent of whom was UCD President Hugh Brady -- calling for something to be done, and quickly.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Teachers plan work-to-rule over cutbacks [Independent.ie]
- Published: 12 December 2009
TEACHERS are planning a work-to-rule in 4,000 schools and Institutes of Technology to show anger at Budget cuts.
Details of the action will be worked out by leaders of the TUI, ASTI and INTO.
And one of the country's main nursing unions last night called for an all-out public service strike in January to reverse the pay cuts that were imposed in the Budget.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
