Resignation of Paul Gogarty TD 09/03/09

INTO Press Release: Statement by John Carr, INTO General Secretary, on the Resignation of Paul Gogarty TD as Education Spokesperson for the Green Party

9th March 2009

Gogarty’s resignation pointless

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation has said Paul Gogarty’s decision to step down as Green Party Education spokesperson was pointless if he continues to support the government’s education cuts.

John Carr, General Secretary of the primary teachers’ union, said Mr Gogarty should have stepped down over the scale of the education cutbacks. “These cutbacks should have made his position untenable and triggered his resignation,” said Carr.

Mr Carr said that before the last election Mr Gogarty led a high profile campaign supporting increased investment in education. “As part of this campaign he called for smaller classes, more teachers and better levels of investment in primary schools. Now his party is backing more overcrowded classes, teacher unemployment and less investment,” said Carr.

In February 2007, Mr Gogarty promised that the Green Party would create 2,400 new teaching jobs in order to cut class sizes nationwide. He said at the time that Ireland had one of the worst records of any developed country when it came to class sizes and promised “to reduce the average class size in a primary school from 24 down to 20, starting with children under nine.” The policy also promised a statutory maximum class size of 25.

Mr Carr said that since the 2007 election, Ireland has an even worse record on class sizes. “Ireland has the second most over-crowded classes in the EU,” said Carr.

“Before the last election Mr Gogarty produced “Fifty Steps to a Better Education System” which helped to get his party elected,” said Carr. “He then backed some of the most savage education cutbacks that have impacted on every primary school in the country.”

“If he wanted to make a credible stand for education then he should have resigned as party spokesperson in protest against these cuts. Today’s announcement is pointless.” ENDS