Lacking the ‘requisite skills’ to govern

I NOTE with concern Mary Coughlan’s assertion at the Fianna Fáil Education Policy launch that “primary teachers lack the requisite skills".

I also note with amusement that this statement was made by a former Minister for Enterprise and Employment whose tenure coincided with a rise in unemployment of a quarter of million Irish people.

However, this blasé statement needs to be challenged.

The 30th Dáil, in which Minister Coughlan presided, resulted in the increase of Irish class size to second largest in Europe, despite the massive crisis in newly qualified teacher unemployment, removal of education grants to children with special educational needs and cut of language supports to non-English speaking children.

What Irish school children need is proper planned investment in Irish school buildings, an end to classroom over-crowding and competent government that can implement a coordinated vision for educational needs of our country.

It is, unfortunately, typical of Mary Coughlan and her cronies to blame everyone from hard-working primary teachers to Lehman Brothers for 14 years of mismanagement.

It’s a pity they themselves didn’t have the “requisite skills” to govern.

Hugh Cronin

Vice-chairperson

Cork City North Branch

INTO

Cork