Teacher's pet

Where did it all go wrong?It's a question that Ruairí Quinn must be pondering after a difficult few weeks.

Not that long ago, Quinn was winning plaudits for his reforming zeal in education. He was the swashbuckling hero determined to shake up the Department of Education.

Today, Quinn is linked in the public mind to that embarrassing U-turn on Deis (disadvantaged) schools and the earlier U-turn on student fees.

He is also associated with the pay cuts for young teachers and the threat to small rural schools, the lifeblood of many communities.

Then, there is the messy business of that Mail on Sunday story about his €1,400 mileage expenses claim last July.

No fair-minded person would question the Minister’s integrity; he is rightly regarded as a very honourable figure.

Last year, Quinn refunded €14,970.68 to the Oireachtas in unused expenses, the highest figure returned by any deputy.

But the Minister did himself few favours in his handling of the Mail story, adopting a casual, almost blase, approach to the controversy in various radio interviews.

There was no sense he appreciated public concern about loose procedures in the allocation of public funds.

Quinn will be hoping the public’s memory is short. He is now working on the next phase of the reform agenda. The report on the forum on school patronage – delivered by Prof John Coolahan months ago – will be published shortly, and there will be new rules for school admissions.

The Minister deserves credit for his reforming zeal, which could have a transformative impact on Irish education.

The question now is: can he recover from a difficult few weeks and regain his poise?

So that’s where the membership fees go

Interesting to see that the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) donated more than €2,500 to help fund the election campaign of Socialist Party candidate Ruth Coppinger in the Dublin West byelection.

Coppinger, a prominent ASTI member, received funding from the ASTI’s little-known political fund, designed to “support and encourage second-level teachers to participate in political life and run for public office”.

ASTI members running for office can apply for funding. More than €20,000 has been given to candidates of all political persuasions in recent years.

All this seems fair enough, and Coppinger was certainly an impressive candidate.

But are the 17,000 ASTI members on board?

The union says contribution to the fund is voluntary and any member has the right to withdraw their contribution by writing to Pat King, the general secretary.

We wonder what percentage of teachers realise their subs are being used in this way.

Missing presidents

The great and the good were out in force at the Department of Education to bid adieu to Brigid McManus, who retired as secretary general recently.

Ruairí Quinn and several former ministers, including Mary Hanafin, Batt O’Keeffe and Mary Coughlan were on hand to pay tribute to an immensely popular, much-respected figure.

The teacher unions and various school management bodies were also out in force.

Curiously, not one of the seven university presidents was present.

It was a reminder of how the Department of Education remains the “Department for Teachers and Schools”.

Taking their time

Teachers were distinctly underwhelmed last week by Sen Averil Power’s announcement of a Bill to change Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, which allows denominational schools to discriminate against gay and lesbian teachers.

Hard to blame them, really, given Fianna Fáil did nothing to change the legislation during 14 years in power, and even had a minister for justice (John O’Donoghue ) copperfasten the discrimination in an EU directive.

Worth catching if you can

The Steward of Christendom by Sebastian Barry in the Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square, Dublin.

This, of course, is the play which established Barry’s reputation.

Our verdict? This version directed by Noel McCarthy is amateur drama at its best. Nightly from Wednesday to Saturday until March 3rd.