ANALYSIS:Given the priority of Ireland's smart economy, the Green Party may well negotiate a U-turn on the cutbacks, writes
SÉAN FLYNN
WHILE THE education cuts were first rolled out by Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe last year, their impact has only been seen in schools from last month.
Special needs classes for children with mild learning disabilities have been closed. Language support teachers have not been reappointed. The increase in class size means bright, young teachers on temporary contracts are gone.
In their negotiating document, the Greens spell out 26 demands in education, most involving a reversal of cuts. While both sides like to play hardball, the truth is the Greens can expect a sympathetic hearing on most of these demands from Fianna Fáil.
There are two reasons for this. First, two of the three-member Fianna Fáil team - Mary Hanafin and Noel Dempsey - are former ministers for education. Second, the address by former Intel chief Craig Barrett to the recent Farmleigh global economic summit changed the nature of the debate on education spending. His critique of an underfunded education system ill-prepared for the smart economy made a huge impact on policymakers.
The debate has become less dominated by the alleged slash-and-burn approach of the McCarthy report and is returning to first principles. How much priority should we give to education? And can we continue with a situation where Ireland remains close to the bottom of the OECD league when it comes to education spending relative to wealth? All of this plays to the Green agenda. It also means Fianna Fáil negotiators have more room for manoeuvre than commonly assumed.
So where can the money be found to satisfy the Green demands? The truth is that the price-tag for reversing many of the cuts is relatively cheap.
The Green demand for retaining language support teachers would see 500 jobs reinstated. The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) says this would have a net cost of only €8 million, when tax income and savings on social welfare payments are factored in. The demand to reinstate library and book grants to September 2008 levels has a cost of just €9 million.
The demand to reinstate grants to September 2008 levels for the Junior Cert, the Leaving Cert Applied and transition year would cost €5.35 million.
The key Green demand is to overturn the increase in class size by restoring the staffing ratio in primary schools to September 2008 levels, one teacher per 27 pupils. The Greens also want to restore the second-level staffing ratio to September 2008 levels. These demands - with a price-tag of some €30 million at both primary and second levels - will not be easy to achieve.
But the Greens' own document hints at a possible compromise in the way it prioritises primary over second- and third-level education. Yesterday the Teachers' Union of Ireland, representing second-level teachers, contacted the Greens to express concern about how post-primary education appeared to be losing out. But it may be too late.
A new deal in which the Fianna Fáil side gives ground on class size at primary level - without any change on staffing levels at second level - could be worked out at a cost of just €6 million, according to the INTO.
This, the union says, is the net cost of 350-450 teachers with net pay of €14,500. (The figure includes €10,000 per year otherwise paid in dole.)
One area of potential conflict is the Green demand to retain the current system of third-level funding with no new student loans or fees. O'Keeffe had hoped to bring his proposals on student loans to Cabinet within weeks. But even if the O'Keeffe plan was agreed by Government, it would still be 2014 at the earliest before the third-level sector gains a significant boost in income.
Seán Flynn is Education Editor