Revealed: Quinn kept cuts secret for 3 weeks

Furious parents, children, and teachers will take to the streets next week as the extent of the Government’s special education cuts hit home.

As public anger grows, the Irish Examiner can reveal the level of the cuts was signed off by Ruairi Quinn’s department three weeks ago, but officials ordered no details be made public until this week.

The Department of Education knew the level of increased demand since mid-April and decided at the end of May that pupils should only get 75% of recommended resource teaching hours, when the body that allocates the staff to schools had finalised applications. However, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) — an independent statutory agency — was asked not to tell schools until two days ago.