THE ultra-conservative Catholic group which attempted to prevent the Roscommon “house of horrors” children being taken from their parents received thousands of euro in state funds throughout the scandal.

THE influx of non-Europeans into meat industry jobs has dried up, with only 12 new permits issued this year for meat industry butchers and boners, compared with 297 in 2008.

IN his letter (March 15), Kieran Kennedy highlighted then Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s lip service to schoolchildren with special needs, while in practice the minister sought to restrict the role of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) to one of “care” at the expense of educational support.

OUT with the old and in with the, er, old.

WILLIE O’DEA, recognised as one of the biggest Fianna Fáil vote catchers in his bailiwick, was born in Limerick in 1952.

ALMOST half of those who teach maths in secondary schools have no qualification in teaching the subject, a study has found.

IS there any limit to this “health and safety” madness? The mandarins in the Department of Education and Science decided last week that schools would be closed until tomorrow not only in Dublin but throughout the whole country.

Chambers Ireland have called on the Department of Education and Science to review Friday’s decision to shut all schools in light of the change in weather conditions in many parts of the country.

SURVIVOR groups are divided over plans to move ahead with a €500,000 memorial to commemorate those who were abused as children in residential institutions.

FIVE special needs children find themselves outside the education system due to a funding dispute between a Dublin school and the Department of Education.

CLARE councillor Brian Meaney is quite right to bring to our attention (Irish Examiner, October 15) what he regards as the waste of public monies on the provision of Irish language documentation.

A Secondary school has today appealed against a directive by a Department of Education committee requiring it to enrol a child who is a member of a criminal family.

An Bord Snip has recommended swingeing cuts of 17,300 jobs in the public sector.

A dispute over an alleged all-Irish policy at a second-level school in the Kerry Gaeltacht has been resolved.

The Government today faced calls to revise its capped compensation scheme for thousands of victims of clerical child abuse.

Multimillion-pound funding to extend and renovate an all-Ireland autism centre is not available this year, the education minister maintained today.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has said the decision to close 128 special classes in primary schools without warning must be reversed.

YOUR report (April 23) on the assignments of new junior ministers made interesting reading.

CHILDREN who are victims of the Ggovernment’s education cutbacks will be less employable, suffer longer periods of joblessness and be a long-term cost to the State, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned.

I REFER to a letter you published (February 24) concerning the use of the term “British Isles” by The UK Open University and asking why the university should be funded by the Irish Government.

RECENTLY I studied a course with the Open University, a British institution. Throughout they constantly referred to Ireland as being in the “British isles” and, when contacted, insisted that it was.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) said it was regrettable that just as it was making its case for the education sector getting most of the 51,000 extra training places for the newly unemployed yesterday, news broke that FÁS was to get all of them.

The Government will have to run the country's public services with just €42bn in 2009, projected figures showed today.

THE cost of putting a child through the education system may be about to get a lot more costly than the €60,000 which was reported last week.

Which is the hardest to deal with: An unruly group of students or the egos around the cabinet table?

The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) has unveiled a €10.8m scheme to fund career formation of new doctoral and masters researchers in the sciences, engineering and technology.

SCHOOL secretaries have staged the first in a series of one-day stoppages in protest at their low level of pay which sees some earning less than the minimum wage.

THE case for refurbishment of the two 19th century buildings which are home to St Angela’s College was first examined in 1999.

CHILDREN using school buses may be left high and dry due to rising fuel costs, bus owners warned yesterday.

A NATIONAL school has brought a High Court challenge to a decision by a Department of Educationappointed body to force it to enrol two pupils although the school claims it does not have room for them.

THE social services system is badly dysfunctional and children will be seriously abused or die as a result, the Dáil has heard.

THE importance of physical activity and sport as part of education was highlighted yesterday when 13 schools from around the country were presented with awards.

MORE than 27,000 transition year students across the country will be able to study a new road safety programme from next September as part of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy.

A VOCATIONAL Education Committee has brought a High Court challenge to a Department of Education and Science attempt to force one of its community colleges to enrol a problem pupil who was allegedly expelled by another secondary school.

DISCIPLINE is more important than religious education when parents choose a school for their children, a study has revealed.

A HIGH-LEVEL group to oversee children’s justice issues is set to be announced today when the Government reveals its National Youth Justice Strategy.

A 15-YEAR-OLD girl was allegedly grabbed by up to five boys, tied up, gagged and blindfolded in a schoolyard.

TECHNOLOGY capable of managing information according to a precise geographical location is to be used in future planning for Irish schools.

THE director of Waterford Institute of Technology said yesterday that weekend leaks and remarks by politicians do not represent setbacks in the institute’s campaign for university designation.

PLANS to offer training and education in skills relevant to local business needs are to be put in place by the end of the year.

PROGRESS is expected within the next six months on three building projects as part of Waterford Institute of Technology’s campus development.

SOME primary schools in Kerry are using up to six times more water than they pay for, senior management at Kerry County Council has confirmed.

A new warning light system, installed on 40 school buses will begin operating in three areas of the country from today.

GETTING an assistant dog has given Mary White, the mother of an autistic child, a new ‘leash’ on life.