THERE is a 20 per cent cap between Government funding for the running of secondary schools and their actual costs, the secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland has told the union's annual convention.
Mr Charlie Lennon said Irish class sizes are "among the largest in the developed world. We have fewer support services and less ancillary staff in our schools. Our sports and science and technology facilities lag far behind those of other developed countries.
He said it was astonishing that EU money for school buildings and other purposes had not been taken up by the Department of Education.
Mr Lennon also criticised the Education Bill, which he said was "restrictive, centralising and bureaucratic" and "ignores the professional role of teachers."
He said if it was enacted it would provide "fodder for litigation for years to come" and "a bonanza for lawyers as they seek to resolve the contradictions and the potential constitutional conflicts in the courts".
He criticised the Minister's assertion that the Bill would bring power and decision making closer to schools. Its effect rather would be "to take decision making away from the schools. It would also centralise authority in the Minister in respect of many matters in which the Minister at the moment has no say."
He noted that the Minister had claimed the Bill provided clarity for everyone in education. "If that is the case, why has it provoked such a hostile response from so many groups? Why are teachers, in particular, so uneasy about so many aspects of the Bill?"
On the Employment Equality Bill, Mr Lennon wondered it if "might have been wiser to undertake reform of the Irish Constitution before embarking on the introduction of legislation in the social sphere which was always likely to fall foul of the denominational aspects of that constitution.
"If Ireland wishes to have an open, pluralist, democratic society, then we should first put in place the constitutional framework which will support such a society." He warned that both the Employment Equality Bill and the Equal Status Bill would create difficulties for schools and teachers.