Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I was on strike last Thursday as a member of the staff of CIT. I did this not to benefit myself but because the Government has betrayed the Cork School of Music. It told staff and students to vacate a building to facilitate contractors and that they would have new premises. It then negotiated a contractor into being the sole contractor and is now attempting to back out. If that happened in the private sector there would be a major court action for breach of contract by the major contracting party with all other participants. My colleagues in CIT are working in hotel bedrooms trying to teach young people in Cork how to play musical instruments because the Government promised them that if they made that sacrifice they would get a new building. This disgraceful breach of promise is worthy of debate, given that Dublin Institute of Technology also seems to be determined to eliminate the teaching of music from its curriculum.