Teacher's PET

An insider's guide to education

• That Dáil debate on third-level fees proved to be a lively affair with Noel Dempsey defending his review of free fees with customary vigour. The star of the show on the night, however, was Labour's new finance spokesperson Joan Burton, who delivered a thought-provoking speech on the defects in the Minister's plan. Labour is clearly turning up the heat in education. Its new spokesperson in the area, Jan O'Sullivan, is also highly regarded. Expect the standard of Dáil education debates to pick up considerably in the coming months.

• The directors of the Institutes of Technology produced a fascinating report last week on college trends. But the directors are furious at the paucity of publicity it attracted. They pin the blame squarely on one newspaper, which they accuse of breaking an agreed embargo. "This kind of behaviour makes it impossible for us," one of them said last week.
• But the paper in question claims it was legitimate to publish the details ahead of a press briefing. Fair enough. So how come the newspaper is being so defensive about its behaviour, dashing off e-mails and explaining itself ?

• Congrats to Peter Mullan, the press officer of the INTO, whose workrate continues to impress. Day after day, Mullan, a former primary teacher, bashes out statements, comments and articles for his master, general secretary John Carr.
• Working up media interest in the primary sector can be a difficult and a thankless task. But Mullan has quickly established a very good reputation.

• Bad news for UCD's Clinton Centre, details of which were first revealed by this newspaper last year. While no doubt a prestigious project, getting someone to head it up is proving difficult. Already two heavy hitters from the US have walked away. Apparently they have taken flight after having a peek at house prices in south Dublin. Shades here of what happened some years ago when a prospective president of DCU - an American who worked in the IMF - was also scared off by house prices. Thank goodness the job of UCD president comes with rent-free accommodation.
• Some complaints in UCD that the newspaper notice advertising the job of president was actually smaller in size than that for president of DIT. Honestly, some people would complain about anything.

Got any education gossip? You can e-mail us in confidence at teacherspet@irish-times.ie