An emergency motion demanding that the INTO begin immediate talks with the TUI and ASTI to initiate a joint campaign to improve the early-settlers' award was overwhelmingly endorsed.
The heated hour-long debate ended with the general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, taking the podium with his hands raised in supplication. It simply couldn't be done, he said. The 3 per cent early-settlers' award was a done deal. It was part of the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness which the members had approved.
Undeterred, delegates voted to follow what Senator O'Toole described as a "yellow brick road". Afterwards, he somewhat ruefully noted that his impassioned speech had gained him three votes - one from a member of the central executive, one from a fellow Kerryman and one from an unknown supporter.
He suggested that the Government might respond to public service unease about pay by distributing part of the £2 billion surplus among workers. Public servants could receive an additional week's salary at Christmas - the equivalent of a 2 1/2 per cent increase, said Senator O'Toole. Even this would be unlikely to satisfy angry delegates. West Clare delegate Mr Sean McMahon said the Celtic Tiger was not an immaculate conception. "He or she was reared, nurtured, and educated in the classrooms of Ireland . . . we, the collective parents, expect him to bring home the bacon, and that's not 3 per cent," he said.
One delegate said the recent Irish Times/MRBI poll had shown the public was not opposed to a pay deal for teachers. The public did not differentiate between primary- and second-level teachers, so if they were going to take the flak, primary teachers should also share the rewards, he said.
A motion demanding support services for schools catering for children of refugees and asylum-seekers was passed. Referring to the Clogheen controversy, Mr O'Toole said photographs in yesterday morning's papers showed the unacceptable face of fascism in Ireland. Children were carrying placards with racist slogans, he said. "Racism is a sickness in our society rooted in ignorance and misinformation. We have a huge role as teachers to deal with it as racism equals lack of education."
Mr Donal O Loingsigh, who was inaugurated as president of the INTO yesterday, said the union was "committed to playing an active role in ensuring that this country honours its obligations to refugees and asylum-seekers. We are fully committed to the promotion of intercultural education and anti-racism policies."