Results 5,741-5,760 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: From September 2009 post-primary schools will be staffed on the same basis as they were prior to 2000.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: Those of our young people who graduated from our universities and institutes in recent years successfully came through our second level schools under the precise staffing arrangements that will apply from next September. Again, let us put aside the hyperbole. Is it credible to claim that operating as we did up to 2000 will be catastrophic? As I have said already, it is not what I would...
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The future prospects of our children would be prejudiced to a far greater extent if the Government recklessly ignored the current realities.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: We have taken a measured approach in the circumstances and those who seek to alarm parents and the wider community in pursuit of their own agenda or for cheap political advantage are doing the nation no service. Taken in combination, and with a reasoned attitude, the impact of the staffing schedule changes, withdrawal of historic disadvantage and language support posts, weighed against the...
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââfor increasing enrolment and resource teachers for special needs, will mean an overall reduction of 200 posts in both the primary and post-primary sectors.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: That is less than 1% of the overall number of teaching posts in schools currently.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: When that is measured against the overall target of a 3% reduction across the public sector, it demonstrates the Government's desireââ
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââto protect frontline staff in schools to the greatest extent possible.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: An amount of confusion has been created around the impact of the measures on teacher numbers.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: To take the primary sector as an example, I am basing my estimate of a net reduction of 200 posts on the removal of 1,100 posts while creating 900 posts.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: That does mean that if none of the changes were being made there could have been over 1,000 primary teachers more in the system in September 2009 than are currently in the system. Some public statements seem to be based on a scaremongering claim that there will be a drop of over 1,000 teachers in the schools. It is a disingenuous use of "potential" additional posts that might have been...
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: Sorry, it will be 200 fewerââ
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââprimary teachers in 2009 than are currently being paid.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: I want to also address the allegation made by Deputy Hayes that we are hiding figures used in our estimations. I strongly refute that allegation. I appreciate the Deputy does not have experience in framing Estimatesââ
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââand therefore I will explain it for him.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Department of Education and Science budget for next year has been prepared on the same fundamental basis as any other year by estimating the number of teachers that will be employed under the different categories given the policies in place, for instance, mainstream classroom teachers, special needs and language support teachers and allowing for any change in overall demographics. The...
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââas part of the detailed allocation process to individual schools.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The education partners were invited to a briefing on budget day in regard to the measuresââ
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: ââaffecting education. Anyone who asked then, or subsequently, was provided with information explaining the basis on which those calculations were done.
- Education Cuts: Motion (29 Oct 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: Schools are currently returning data to my Department in regard to their enrolment as of 30 September 2008. All enrolment and pupil data has to go through a data validation process before it is used for teacher allocation purposes.