Educate Together seeks role in new schools [Independent.ie]
- Published: 14 November 2009
The multi-denominational education body Educate Together has said it is willing to be patron of up to nine new schools set to open next September to deal with population bulges.
The nine areas, Balbriggan and Swords, Co Dublin, Doughiska in Galway, Naas, Co Kildare, Portlaoise, Co Laois, Drogheda, Co Louth, Navan and Ratoath, Co Meath, and Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, have been identified as priorities for the new school year.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Teachers vote to support strike [IrishTimes]
- Published: 14 November 2009
Primary and secondary schools are set to close for a day on November 24th after teachers strongly backed the call for industrial action.
Third-level colleges are also expected to face serious disruption to services – and possible closure – that day, as both academic and non-academic staff have backed the one-day public sector strike.
Some 65,000 teachers and lecturers working in primary and second-level schools, further education colleges and third-level institutions will participate in the one-day strike.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
800,000 pupils face disruption when teachers walk out [Independent.ie]
- Published: 14 November 2009
TEACHERS will be hit in the pocket to the tune of €10.3m after they voted in favour of industrial action.
A typical primary teacher, paid an average of €62,000 a year, will lose €170, before tax, for not working on November 24. For an average second-level teacher, on a slightly higher, salary of €67,000, the day's stoppage will mean a before-tax pay loss of €183.
Teachers yesterday voted almost 4 to 1 in favour of strike action as part of a wider public service protest on Tuesday week.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Teachers need extra year training, says college head [Independent.ie]
- Published: 14 November 2009
IRISH primary teachers don't train for long enough, the head of a major teacher training college said yesterday.
If they spent an extra year in college, it would benefit their future pupils, said Dr Pauric Travers, president of St Patrick's primary teacher training college in Drumcondra, Dublin.
He described teacher training courses in Ireland as "overcrowded and far too short by international standards".
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Public sector pay and conditions [IrishTimes]
- Published: 13 November 2009
Madam, – Prof John O’Hagan, (Opinion, November 10th) like many commentators on public service pay, fails to give due regard to the second benchmarking report (2008) when he calls for benchmarking in reverse.
According to this report, the most recent indepth analysis of public service versus private sector pay, “there is little or no public service premium, if comparison is made with private sector employees in large establishments” which the report notes “accounts for a significant majority of public sector workers”. Despite this lack of a premium, “a discount of up to 12 per cent was applied for pension entitlement” and over 300,000 public sector employees did not receive any increase.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
