Local children subjected to overcrowding [roscommonpeople.ie]
- Published: 30 September 2011
A sixth of Roscommon’s 7,000 primary school pupils are in classes of thirty or more. Three-quarters of the pupils in the county are in classes greater than the EU average.
New figures published this week show that three-quarters of pupils in Roscommon schools are in classes of twenty or more. Sixteen percent are in classes of more than thirty children. The figures are the latest available official figures on Irish class sizes.
The general secretary of the INTO Ms. Sheila Nunan described the figures as shocking and said the government was not tackling the problem of overcrowded classes which was, she said, getting worse particularly in urban areas and commuter counties.
The INTO called the figures “a wake-up call for the parents of Roscommon’s 7,000 primary school pupils” in advance of the next budget. The union said Ireland’s classes are the second most overcrowded in Europe and twenty percent higher than the EU average.
Full Story: www.roscommonpeople.ie
Overcrowded classrooms among worst in country [laois-nationalist.ie]
- Published: 30 September 2011
PRIMARY schools in Laois are among the most overcrowded in the country.
That’s according to a statement released yesterday by the Irish National Teachers Organisation with regard to the growing problem of class overcrowding in commuter belt counties.
In its statement, INTO say that 90% of primary pupils in Laois are in classes greater than the EU average of 20 pupils to a class. It also says that 20% of primary school pupils in Laois are in classes of more than 30 children.
The general secretary of the INTO, Sheila Nunan, described yesterday’s figures as “shocking” and said the government was not tackling the problem of overcrowded classes, which was getting worse, particularly in commuter counties like Laois.
The INTO called the figures “a wake-up call” for the parents of 9,500 primary school pupils in the county in advance of the next budget.
Full Story: www.laois-nationalist.ie
Gilmore plea to unions on pensions [Independent.ie]
- Published: 30 September 2011
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has urged unions to stand back after they criticised radical pension reform plans and threatened court action.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said new measures to cut the public service retirement bill by 35%, or 1.8 billion euro, by 2050 are prudent.
The Into and Asti teachers' unions claimed the changes - which do not affect fast accrual rates for ministers, TDs, judges, nurses, gardai and firemen - are illegal.
But Mr Gilmore urged restraint and defended the reforms, announced by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin to meet commitments given under the bailout loan deal.
Mr Gilmore said: "What is proposed in the Bill that Minister (Brendan) Howlin has published is a new approach to pensions for new entrants to the public service.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Teachers attack ‘larcenous’ and ‘unjust’ plans for public pension reform [thejournal.ie]
- Published: 30 September 2011
TEACHERS’ UNIONS are considering a legal challenge to the government’s new proposals for wholesale reform of public pensions, announced by Public Expenditure minister Brendan Howlin yesterday.
The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) has claimed the new system – which will see public servants earn pensions based on their career average salary, rather than the wage on which they retired – is “larcenous”.
The union claims that new system means workers will pay more into the public pension fund than they will get back in return – and says it will consider challenging the legislation in courts. The government has disputed the figures.
Full Story: www.thejournal.ie
Reform needed now, not in 2050 [Independent.ie]
- Published: 30 September 2011
There was more than a touch of St Augustine's prayer, "Lord make good, but not yet", about the reforms to public sector pensions announced by Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin yesterday.
While the reforms, which tie public sector pensions to average career earnings rather than, as was the case previously, to the final salary, and break the link between pensions and subsequent pay increases, are welcome they only apply to new entrants rather than to existing public sector workers.
What this means is that the reforms announced yesterday won't generate any significant savings this side of 2050. While the €1.8bn annual savings which the reforms will eventually generate are not to be sneezed at, the fact is that we need savings in the €2.9bn public sector pensions bill now, not some time in the second half of the century.
So why is Mr Howlin announcing reforms which will only yield savings in the far distant future? Why is he not taking the bull by the horns and addressing the issue of the pensions currently being paid to retired public sector workers and the completely unaffordable pension rights of existing public sector staff?
Full Story: www.independent.ie
