ANY REVERSAL of controversial cuts to special needs classes has been ruled out by Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn.
Warning teacher union delegates of a stark and difficult road ahead, he said further difficult and painful decisions were inevitable as the Government reviewed public spending.
Mr Quinn received a polite response from over 750 primary teachers at the annual conference of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO). But he was heckled by parents of special needs children and by newly qualified young teachers as he made his way into the conference. In response, Mr Quinn told protesters he understood why they were there.
Mr Quinn used his first address as Minister for Education to outline the range and extent of the economic crisis. He said he wanted to be frank about the resources available.
The Minister said that “the budget figures for 2011 will stand and will not be reviewed” and there was no commitment to reverse the 10,575 cap on the number of special needs assistants.
Primary school boards of management were informed last month that there would be no further allocation of special needs resource hours from September. Pupils who qualify for special needs support hours will retain those hours, but no applications for new school entrants, or newly diagnosed pupils, can be made. The announcement has led to concern and confusion in schools and anxiety for parents.
The Minister stressed that resources for education would not be improved, and that earlier decisions would not be reversed.
“To put it bluntly, the money dispensed by ATMs to all public servants . . . is made available to Ireland by the European Central Bank at fortnightly intervals. Every two weeks the governor of the Irish Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, has to confirm to the ECB that Ireland is meeting the terms of the bailout,” Mr Quinn said.
He reminded delegates that there was a trade-off to be made for the Croke Park agreement that included a net reduction in teacher numbers in 2011.
“The bottom line is that Ireland has to reduce its expenditure on public services and that means further difficult and painful decisions. We must all come to terms with the extent to which our reliance on EU/IMF funding means that we operate without economic sovereignty.”
The Minister appealed to delegates to consider their role as public servants in the light of the economic crisis. “The core purpose of the Croke Park Agreement is to allow us to manage better with less. Because, make no mistake about it, we have to manage with less,” he said.
To the relief of delegates and the executive, the Minister confirmed that the closure of small schools is not part of the programme for government. The “An Bord Snip Nua” report had suggested that savings might be made by closing a number of small schools, of 50 pupils or less.
The restructuring of primary school patronage remains a priority for the department, Mr Quinn told delegates. He urged all stakeholders in education to engage with the process over the coming months.
“The tension between the growth in the level of demand for school places, the diversity of that demand and our current financial difficulties raise significant questions for our primary system.”
The Minister will address the ASTI post-primary teachers’ union conference later today.