Budget 2009 21/10/08

Statement by John Carr, General Secretary, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation on Budget 2009

21st October 2008  

Nine out of every ten children to pay the price of Budget 2009.  

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said today that another government u-turn was needed in relation to education. The General Secretary of the primary teachers’ union, John Carr, said the government had moved to protect older people but now needed to regain the trust of teachers and parents in relation to primary education.  

According to the INTO the decision to raise class size would see nine out of every ten primary pupils in the country in classes of twenty or more. “Next year there will 450,000 primary children in classes of twenty or more. Six years ago these pupils were promised classes of less than twenty,” said Carr.  

Mr Carr said the figures showed the extent to which this government was targeting children in the Budget cutbacks. He said the Minister should hang his head in shame at the fact that the only legacy of the good years for children is the most over-crowded classes in Europe.”  

According to the INTO, the number of pupils in what it calls “super-sized classes” of more than thirty will also increase. “More than 100,000 pupils will be in classes of more than thirty,” said Carr, “reversing the minimal progress made in recent years.”  

He said government cuts in education were entirely indefensible in view of the fact that Irish spending on schools is so low. “Ireland spends 4.6% of GDP on education compared to an EU average of more than 6%. The worst funded sector of the education system is primary,” said Carr. “There is no room to cut funding to primary schools which are already co-funded by parents,” he argued.  

Mr Carr accused the government of using a blunt instrument when it came to the Budget cuts.  

He said the union executive will meet tomorrow to finalise a series of protest events between now and Christmas which would bring home to government the anger of teachers and parents in relation to the cuts. 

ENDS