Joe Conway (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na finnéithe as ucht teacht isteach ar maidin agus a gcás a phlé linn. I am delighted to be taking part in this discussion and am particularly delighted to welcome David from Waterford. I think it is the first time I have heard such a rich Waterford city accent abroad in any of the Houses or committees and it is truly uplifting.

I am probably the only person in this room who was a school principal before the dispensation, when my school had a secretary and a caretaker, and afterwards for a number of years when I was ably served by my secretary, Eileen, and a number of caretakers for many years. However, until that time, I was what was known as a teacher principal of a four-teacher school in Dunmore East. A teacher principal is a jack-of-all-trades, handyman and secretary, and my handyman skills were of the Frank Spencer nature. It was quite a challenge. The advent of the secretary and caretaker was liberating both for me and the staff in the school. I do not want to minimise the great work that is done by secretaries and caretakers. When I met Mr. Hearne outside I used the expression "pushing at an open door", which two colleagues have already used. It is illustrative of the fact that people are very much on the witnesses' side.

I will ask a few questions about the dreaded spectre of a strike in the autumn. These can be answered when I am finished so that the discussion will be more orderly. Have any discussions taken place with the teacher unions, for example, the INTO, in relation to what their response will be to the official pickets on the day? As a former principal, I know in my heart of hearts what the first day of school in September means to families and children, particularly the junior infants in the reception class. They are coming in and their parents may not have had another child in school. It is a red letter day for a family. The anticipation grows over the summer for the kids and parents. To have all this blown out of the water on 1 September, if not managed well, and I do not know what side is going to manage it, this has the potential to become a nasty and messy industrial action. To what extent has Fórsa thought this through? I am conscious of the possible backlash there will be from parents. Mr. Pike mentioned that he got a lot of support from all political parties. I would be slightly critical of that phrase because, in deference to the dozens of Independent Members in the Seanad and Dáil, the phrase he should be using is "all political parties and none". The Independents in particular are fully supportive of this cause as well.