COLLEGES have been warned their funding will be cut if they continue to offer similar sets of courses.

The Cabinet is to gather today for a special meeting where it is expected to sign off on a major review of government spending.

A prominent economist has said the new government should push for a Europe-wide agreement to address the banking crisis.

TEACHERS’ pay and pensions cost €45 million more than expected last year despite Government efforts to cut costs in the public service.

A NUMBER of institutes of technology are already discussing possible mergers which are to be urged in the long-awaited higher education strategy being published this morning.

TOURISM and business interests locally have warned the future of Kerry Airport could depend on the continuation of a government subsidy, through the Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract payment.

THE Government is considering raising student registration charges again to achieve savings in the near €9 billion education budget.

FIANNA FÁIL councillors may raise concerns with Tánaiste Mary Coughlan about her plans to cut the number of Vocational Education Committees by more than half.

LOCAL education services face annihilation under plans by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan to more than halve the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs), staff representatives are warning.

The author of the report from An Bord Snip Nua said today that it makes no sense that everyone in Ireland is not paying for their water supply.

Two airports find themselves pawns in Ryanair’s battle, writes Donal Hickey

PLANS to reduce the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) by about a third and make them more efficient will be brought to Government within three weeks by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan.

The Minister for Finance has set up a special group to advise the Government on the sell-off of state companies.

THE mid-point of the year sees the publication of the half-year exchequer returns and CSO data on the economy. This will form the backdrop to the formation of December’s budget.

THE merger of two Munster third-level colleges is to proceed under proposals brought to Cabinet by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan this week.

The author of the report from An Bord Snip Nua Colm McCarthy has said Ireland may need to take more corrective measures for the economy sooner than planned, because of recent events in Greece.

MICHELLE Mitchell’s chances of fulfilling her dream to study at third-level could be dashed unless a Government cutback is reversed.

WATER charges will not be imposed for at least another two years after Environment Minister John Gormley admitted they will not go ahead before June 2012 when the next general election is due to be held.

EDUCATION Minister Batt O’Keeffe is to overturn a controversial directive by his predecessor Mary Hanafin that gaelscoil pupils must be taught English from their second term in junior infants.

IRELAND is set to become the only EU country to have no bio-ethics advisory group, after funding was removed completely from the national expert body.

THE Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, has been re-appointed for a six-year term despite the recommendations of An Bord Snip Nua her office be scrapped.

PERMANENT measures are needed in next week’s budget, not temporary band aid solutions such as the civil service 12-day unpaid leave deal proposal.

Calling off the one-day strike scheduled for today was a welcome development, but there must be no more procrastination in tackling the vital issues involved. Nobody wants to see people made unemployed, but we have to be realistic. The public sector has to be the right size for us as a nation.

FINE GAEL is proposing to cut the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) from 33 to 20 in a shake-up of services in schools, further education and youth work.

The Disability Federation of Ireland says it is concerned about cuts recommended earlier this year by An Bord Snip Nua.

THE Department of Education is expecting schools may refuse to keep pupils with special needs as a cut of at least 10% in staff employed to support them is expected over the coming year.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has revealed he will cast aside another standout recommendation made by An Bord Snip Nua.

The leadership of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is expected to consider proposals for a campaign of opposition to government cutbacks when it meets later today.

FEWER exam subjects and less focus on assessments for the Junior Certificate could be in prospect for students starting second level in the next few years.

The chairman of An Bord Snip Nua has said anyone who thinks widespread cutbacks can be avoided is out of touch with reality.

A NATIONAL protest campaign intent on reversing Government plans to cut child benefit is to be waged in the build up to December’s budget.

Community workers from around the country are planning to stage a protest in Dublin today against proposed cuts in funding for community development projects.

The Green Party has expressed its support for the idea of an Oireachtas inquiry into the failure of Ireland's banks.

THE head of Bord Snip Nua was paid nearly €800 a day while drawing up its hit list of “savage” cuts in public services.

UP to 60,000 students have been left counting the cost after their grants were frozen for a second year in a row despite an 11% rise in third-level education costs in the same period.

The state’s largest trade union accused the Department of Finance tonight of sabotaging attempts to get the country out of recession by targeting the less well-off.

Economist and chairman of An Bord Snip Nua Colm McCarthy has been invited to appear before a joint Oireachtas Committee.

A PLANNED recruitment embargo in the country’s third level colleges will restrict their autonomy which is enshrined in law, a union has claimed.

Bord na Móna has announced plans to create 300 new jobs as part of a major expansion into green technologies.

Bord na Móna is set to make a significant jobs announcement at its annual general meeting in Dublin today.

WE seem to have developed an addiction to disconcerting news and dire predictions – our day now seems incomplete without a calamity to chew over or fretting about the one looming just below the horizon. Either that or we have been forced, kicking and screaming, to confront the realities of our time.

Local councils are the latest group to criticise the recommendations of An Bord Snip Nua.