O’Keeffe seeks support of teacher unions

TEACHER unions have been urged by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe to ease pressure for industrial action and support Government policies following concessions on a number of education cutbacks in the new Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme.

The revised Programme for Government published on Saturday provides for 500 extra teachers at primary and second level in the next three years, as well as restoring grants for books for poorer families and funding for programmes aimed at keeping disadvantaged teenagers in school.

The teaching posts will add about €30 million a year to the Department of Education pay bill when all are in place, and the grants are worth more than €12.5m annually. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland decided last Friday to ballot its members for industrial action in anticipation of further cuts in education services and their pay in the budget, while other teacher unions are considering similar ballots.