The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, could yet attend all three teacher union conferences after a compromise formula cleared the way for him to take part in a debate at the TUI conference yesterday.
Mr Dempsey has already agreed to attend the INTO conference where both he and the union's general secretary, Mr John Carr , will hold a debate on a range of education issues. He could also attend the ASTI conference if its executive backs the new format early next Thursday.
The Minister has now backed down on his demand for a forum based on the Your Education System (YES) public meetings which have been under way for the past six weeks.
In return, the INTO and the TUI have dropped their insistence that the Minister give the traditional address to conference delegates.
In a letter to the teaching unions last month, he described this model as a "dated format" which placed an onus on confrontation rather than real communication.
Mr Dempsey will now address the INTO conference in Tralee on April 13th next. He will also engage in a debate on education issues with the TUI president, Mr Derek Dunne, at its conference in Galway.
Last night the TUI said it was "pleased that the Minister has chosen to compromise on his initial rejection of our invitation. It is important to state that there will be no YES-style meeting at TUI's conference nor is the Minister's appearance conditional on a YES-style meeting taking place at some other time.
"Initially, Minister Dempsey requested that his appearance incorporate an independent chair, some trustees and members of the secretariat of Your Education System. This proposal was already rejected outright by TUI on the basis that it would compromise the autonomy of the union if an outside agent was allowed to dictate the form that the conference would take. Our views on this remain the same".
At the insistence of the INTO, the new compromise formula was offered to the TUI and ASTI at talks with Department officials earlier this week.
The TUI said yesterday that there may also be an opportunity for "further engagement" from either the Minister or its president at the conference "if deemed necessary in order to further facilitate meaningful and substantive interaction on the issues of most importance in education today".
