Mediator appointed in dispute over new Junior Cycle

Teacher unions have agreed to mediation in their dispute over the planned new Junior Cycle, reducing the likelihood of strike action over the controversial reforms.

Dr Pauric Travers, former president of St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, has been appointed as an independent chairman to the talks, with the aim of resolving the dispute speedily.

The announcement was made after the latest meeting between Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, and teacher unions today over the reforms.

The Minister said: "I appreciate the constructive attitude of both the ASTI and TUI at today's meeting. Both unions clearly articulated the views of their members in relation to Junior Cycle reform.

“There was common consensus around the objectives of Junior Cycle reform and both unions have agreed to enter a process that will discuss outstanding issues regarding implementation.”

Terms of reference for the process will be agreed between the Department and the teaching unions over the coming days and all parties agreed the process should aim to conclude within a matter of weeks, the Minister said.

In a joint statement, ASTI and TUI said their representatives reiterated teachers’ serious concerns about the proposals “including the threat to national education standards, the capacity of schools to implement aspects of the proposals in the wake of five years of education cutbacks and the potential for the proposals to exacerbate inequality between schools and between students”.