CBS High School, Clonmel 0-13 St Colman’s College, Fermoy 0-13

THE Ireland U18 schools’ side let an interval lead slip yesterday as they suffered defeat by Australia in Coolock in their season opener.

It is obvious now that the DES and the Minister for Education and Skills have little understanding of the logistics of running a school or of the level of essential support services necessary to help students following the decision to make career guidance teachers part of the normal staffing allocation.

A CIRCUIT Court judge “erred in law” by quashing an Equality Tribunal ruling that a secondary school indirectly discriminated against Travellers by not admitting a 13-year-old Traveller boy as a student, the High Court heard yesterday.

The mother of a boy who was blocked from attending a Co Tipperary school will take her appeal to the High Court today.

I WAS dismayed to hear junior minister Martin Mansergh say the government jet and ministerial cars (with two garda drivers) were necessary for ministers to do their jobs.

I REFER to the recent statement by Minister for Education and Science Batt O’Keeffe that, prior to 2003, schools managed without any provision for substitution cover for short-term sick leave and school business and that this did not impede their capacity to participate in relevant activities or to run things properly.