The Fine Gael Cork North West Constituency AGM takes place in Millstreet this evening. Fine Gael Education Spokesman, Brian Hayes TD will deliver a speech on why there needs to be a new deal between teachers and the Government.
If I had a fiver for everyone who told me that the Department of Education HQ was a downtown office of the Irish teachers’ unions, I would be a very wealthy man. The common perception is that the unions simply click their fingers in Marlborough Street and get everything they want.
It is true that we have seen some dreadful deals down the years where educational outcomes were not the priority. But can it be said after the effective reduction of between 15% to 19% of teachers take home pay over a twelve month period that the teacher unions still dominate the agenda? Any objective observer would have to say that this is not the case.
The full speech is available on the Fine Gael website
See also an article on todays Irish Examiner
