Tánaiste met with anger but escapes intact

THE Tánaiste arrived into a dragon’s den of more than 700 angry primary teachers first thing yesterday but managed to escape without swords being drawn.

The Garda escort she received into the packed hall in the Galway hotel proved unnecessary, although Mary Coughlan could have been forgiven if she had a sense of foreboding as she rose to her feet.

The appearance of around 100 placards slating Government policies on public service pay and bailing out the banks, failed to faze the new Minister for Education and Skills, however, as she proceeded through a 25-minute speech which did little to appease the anger of union activists.

Indeed, in a spirit of new beginnings, INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan gave Ms Coughlan a welcome promise in her new portfolio.

“If you don’t believe half the things you’ve heard about teachers, we won’t believe half the things we’ve heard about you,” she said, responding to the Tánaiste’s speech.

She later said the reception from delegates was “as warm as could be expected”, although that included regular moans and groans throughout her speech, which was interrupted on numerous occasions with shouts of “tax the rich”.

The only applause given to the minister during her speech came when she paid tribute to fellow Donegal native John Carr, who stepped down as the union’s general secretary yesterday.

“It is no exaggeration to say that his wisdom and principled common sense will be a great loss.

“In his retirement, he’s insisting that every one of you take at least 10 people to Donegal on their holidays,” she said.

Not one to let the opportunity to refer to his native county slip by, Mr Carr harped back to his shared birthplace with the minister when responding to plaudits to mark his retirement.

“I wish you well minister, but if the timing were different, I’ve no doubt we’d be called the Donegal Mafia every time we delivered for primary education. We might even have rivalled the gang in Drumcondra,” he quipped.