Quinn rules out reversal on cutbacks

TEACHERS will be left in no doubt by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn over the next three days that there is no extra funding to reverse cutbacks in schools.

But the minister will also tell delegates at their union conferences, beginning this evening at the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) in Sligo, that he is satisfied they are delivering the reforms required under the Croke Park public service agreement.

As one of the first unions to sign up to it last summer, the INTO can expect particular praise from the Labour minister for its successful implementation to date. The fine details mean that, between February and the summer holidays, the country’s 30,000-plus full-time primary teachers will have given an extra 18 hours of non-teaching work to their schools.