INTO meets Minister for Education and Science 13/11/08

Statement by Irish National Teachers’ Organisation

13 November, 2008

The INTO met with the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD, and officials from the Department of Education and Science today.  

The union outlined its grave concerns about the impact of the budget cuts on primary education and sought their reversal. The INTO fully acknowledged current national economic difficulties and that some harsh decisions would have to be made. But the union told the Minister that any corrective measures had to be fair and equitable and that the budget went wrong because it was lacked fairness and equity, targeting as it did the old, the lower paid and children.  

The union told the Minister that the budget lacked social solidarity. In order to restore social solidarity and cohesion the education cutbacks would have to be addressed. It was argued that a strategic examination of the national economic situation in the context of social partnership was necessary. Such an examination was needed in order to find solutions to economic difficulties that would attract broad public support.  

The union described the class size increases as “reprehensible” and that TDs telling schools that they would sort out staffing problems in individual schools were not helpful.  

Speaking after the meeting, INTO General Secretary John Carr said no progress was made on reversing the budget cutbacks and that the union’s campaign against the cutbacks will continue. He said the union had indicated to the Minister that it was prepared to be as constructive as possible in relation to finding a solution through partnership. “But,” he said, “partnership is a two way street”.  

A protest meeting will be held in Tullamore on Saturday 15th November 2008 and will be followed by protests in Cork and Donegal before a national protest in Dublin on 6th December.