“The Ógra Fianna Fáil branch secretary in Micheál Martin’s own constituency has left the party and joined David Norris’s presidential election bid over the ‘bigoted’ anti-gay opinions of an ex-colleague …” (more)
[Fiachra Ó Cionnaith, Irish Examiner, 14 March]
“Teachers entering the classroom lack the ‘requisite skills’ to boost literacy and numeracy standards, Minister for Education Mary Coughlan has said …” (more)
[Sean Flynn, Irish Times, 18 February]
“Fianna Fail has announced that it would like to increase the length of training time for both primary and secondary school teachers …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 17 February]
“The outgoing Education Minister Mary Coughlan is ruling out the introduction of a ‘graduate tax’ if Fianna Fáil is returned to power …” (more)
[BreakingNews.ie, 17 February]
“In the run-up to the Irish general election I propose to look a little at some of the party manifestos, and in particular at what they have to say about higher education. The first one to be considered is the manifesto of Fianna Fáil …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 11 February]
“Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Public Sector Reform, Laois TD Seán Fleming has said that Labour’s Brendan Howlin has refused to rule out 30,000 public sector job cuts if his party enters a coalition government with Fine Gael …” (more)
[Sean Fleming, Fianna Fáil, 4 February]
“Jackie Gallagher, senior adviser to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for almost a decade and director of Q4 Public Relations firm, has been appointed to the Board of Trinity College by the Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, following consultation with Provost John Hegarty …” (more)
[Rónán Burtenshaw, University Times, 14 December]
“In response to the coming budget, FEE NUIM are calling upon students, staff and members of the local community to march on the constituency office of Fianna Fail TD, Aine Brady, located on the main street …” (more)
[Free Education for Everyone, 3 December]
“Negotiations on the scale of the new student fees are continuing between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. The Greens appear ready to back fees and/or charges of up to €2,500, representing an increase of €1,000 on the student registration charge. Fianna Fáil Ministers are pushing for total charges of €3,000 …” (more)
[Seán Flynn and Harry McGee, Irish Times, 2 November]
“The Green Party believes up to €5.7 billion could be cut in the budget without sacrificing education commitments in the Programme for Government …” (more)
[Paul O’Brien, Irish Examiner, 1 November]
“Tensions between the Government parties are set to rise over a proposal, backed by Fianna Fáil, whereby third-level students would face college fees of up to €3,000 per year from next September …” (more)
[Deaglán de Bréadún and Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 1 November]
“The Hunt Report on the future of Higher Education is due to report in the next few weeks and will call for a return of university fees. Colin Hunt, who chairs the committee is a former special advisor to Brian Cowen at the department of Finance and to Martin Cullen at the Department of Transport …” (more)
[Socialist Workers Party, 4 October]
“Over 1,000 small Irish firms have used a €5,000 Government innovation voucher which allows them to link with college researchers to solve business and technical problems, according to the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Conor Lenihan …” (more)
[Fianna Fáil, 1 September]
“… The Government today announced that United Technologies Corporation is to establish a unique energy and security research centre in Ireland creating 37 new jobs over the next four years through a €15 million investment. The investment is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland …” (more)
[Fianna Fail, 26 April]
“Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins has moved to reassure students awaiting either a decision on their grant applications or payment of their grant. Deputy Collins said he has raised the grants-processing delay with the Minster for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD …” (more)
[Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil Blog, 2 December]
“So Fine Gael have got off the fence and lined up with Fianna Fail. To be fair to them they’ve waited a while and while I welcome their 3rd way document as it contains a whole lot more than just funding of third level, graduate charges are what the media have focussed on rightly as it will lob on to those who wish to teach an additional levy on their PRSI. I welcome some aspects of the Fine Gael document but it’s important to have clear blue water between Labour and FG on the question of funding 3rd level. I always understood that we pay taxes to support education. Fine Gael has rushed into the announcement and had not thought through their policy. I couldn’t believe how complimentary Education Batt O’Keeffe was to FG this morning on radio, if I was an FG’er I’d have cringed! Let’s talk about 2 things I should know something about, science degrees and higher diplomas in education …” (more)
[Cllr Joe Ryan’s Blog, 19 March]
“The two big Dublin universities have plenty of clout at the Cabinet table. In fact, all but four of the 15-member Cabinet are graduates of either UCD or Trinity, including the leaders of Fianna Fail and the Green Party. So are the four others who attend Cabinet in an official capacity — the Attorney General Paul Gallagher, and junior ministers Pat Carey and Barry Andrews, who are all UCD graduates, and Dermot McCarthy, Secretary General to the Government, who studied at Trinity. UCC has two graduates at the Cabinet table, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin and Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe. NUI Maynooth has one in Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin …” (more)
[Independent, 12 March]
“THE possible reintroduction of college fees will still be considered by Government despite the opposition of Fianna Fáil members, Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said yesterday.
The party’s ard fheis voted at the weekend in support of a motion to keep the free fees scheme in place for third-level students. But the minister insisted he must push ahead with plans to put various options to his cabinet colleagues, and he expects to put a recommendation to them on a particular option by early April.
“It is important that we would be informed by the organisation [Fianna Fáil] what their views would be,” he told the Irish Examiner.
“At the end of the day, however, I’m charged by the cabinet to put a report before them in relation to fees and in relation to loans and any other options,” he said.
The most likely options expected to be presented by Mr O’Keeffe are either direct charging of fees — which would severely ease Government spending on third-level education — or imposing a graduate loan system where degree holders pay back their college fees when they pass a certain income threshold.
But he also made clear any recommendation he brings on possible student contribution would have to be approved by the cabinet. Members of the Green Party are believed to be strongly opposed to any return of college fees, although party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley has not ruled anything out.
The Programme for Government indicates there will not be a return of fees and Mr O’Keeffe stressed any change in that position would have to be agreed by cabinet.”
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 3 March]
“Fianna Fáil’s rank and file have told Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe they do not want him to bring back third-level fees.
On Saturday delegates voted in favour of a motion calling on him to maintain the free fees initiative.
One delegate addressed the crowd and said, while a graduate tax could generate revenue for education, a flat fee would prohibit those from poorer backgrounds getting into third level.
Soon afterwards the delegates voted in favour of the no-fees motion.
Mr O’Keeffe has increasingly sought to rally support for the reintroduction of fees and is looking at formulas on how best to do this.
However, in contributions from delegates, the structure of the school system also came in for criticism. Two members adopted the opposition line and called on the minister to stop using prefabricated buildings as long-term classrooms.
Damien Lane from Rathcormac pleaded with Mr O’Keeffe to ‘come and look at the facilities in Rathcormac National School’.
Another said there needed to be a focus on ‘proper class sizes’ and support for special needs education.
However, in his speech Mr O’Keeffe called on all stakeholders to relax their positions and work together to find a solution. He said the Government could not continue to borrow for all its needs. He said the Government was providing more money than ever to third-level education, but it was his responsibility to ensure society was getting the maximum benefit from this.”
[Conor Ryan, Irish Examiner, 2 March]
“Ah, democracy. On the face of it, UCD’s FF branch had a reasonably solid resolution calling for the Minister to Education to ‘maintain the “free fees initiative”’. But speaking in support of the measure, Naas delegate Kevin Dillon said maybe they could look at a graduate tax, which would be ‘fair’ and ‘maintain our competitiveness’. I suppose the phrase “free fees initiative” in quotation marks technically refers to the current situation where the State pays students’ course fees. It’s a technical phrase that allows the party to appear to support free third level education while introducing a graduate tax would make college education even more expensive …” (more)
[Yellow Roman Candles, 28 February]
Ninth Level Ireland 