Dempsey agrees terms to attend INTO conference

The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, is to attend the INTO conference next month after reaching agreement with officials in the union late last night.

Under the agreement the INTO has agreed to change the format of its conference and hold a forum on the future of education during the meeting as the Minister had requested.

However, it seems unlikely that Mr Dempsey will attend either the ASTI or TUI conferences, as both of these unions have refused to change the format of their conferences. It is understood that the compromise agreement worked out with the INTO last night will also be offered to both the ASTI and TUI.

Last month, in a letter to the three teaching unions, Mr Dempsey was critical of what he called the dated format of their annual conferences. He said the traditional model whereby union figures respond to the ministerial address placed an onus on confrontation rather than communication.

The Minister wants to replace the tradition ministerial address with a forum based on the Your Education System (YES) meetings, which have been taking place in 17 venues across the State. The meetings, hosted by broadcasters like Joe Duffy and John Bowman, have proved popular with the public. The discussions are part of a process which will lead to a new vision document on the future of the Irish education system later this year.

All three teaching unions, which represent over 40,000 teachers, had hoped to frame a common approach to Mr Dempsey's request to a change to their conference but to date only the INTO has responded positively to his request. The compromise deal, which will see Mr Dempsey attend the INTO conference in Tralee, Co Kerry, on April 13th, was worked out after meetings with Department officials and INTO figures.

Both the ASTI and TUI have insisted that the arrangement for their conferences cannot be changed at the eleventh hour. There has been speculation that both unions may invite opposition spokespersons on education to speak at their meetings.

The ASTI has insisted that there is little point in holding a YES-style meeting at their conference. Hundreds of their members, they say, have attended these meetings across the State. The TUI is equally adamant that there is nothing to be gained from such a meeting.

It appears that Mr Dempsey will not now make the traditional ministerial address at the INTO conference. Instead, the second day of the conference will incorporate a two-hour long YES-style debate. Mr Dempsey has not addressed these meetings preferring instead to take copious notes of these proceedings.