Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy that in the post-primary education sector, in particular, the nature and quality of employment for teachers who teach a range of subjects, as distinct from primary school teachers who are teaching young children and more holistic in their overall educational approach, are problematic. The nature of the contractual relationship between the employer bodies and secondary teachers is not satisfactory. It results in people who may have been in college for four years obtaining a primary degree followed by a further one or two years obtaining a higher diploma and are well into their twenties only finding part-time work, with very few hours. This is an issue which concerns me and I will be raising it in due course.

On the denigration of the public service, it has been my experience that those who make such casual comments are often the first to scream if they do not see a fire brigade or an ambulance within minutes of an emergency occurring or if there is a difficulty for an elderly relative and they cannot get him or her into a nursing home. It is not that they are doing it deliberately, but they are aided and abetted by some commentators in some of the newspapers, some of whom sit close to Deputy Finian McGrath on occasion.

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