David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the Minister. I know he has had to leave a Cabinet meeting and I really appreciate his presence in the Senate. I also very much appreciate the fact that the Leader has asked for time. I am happy to give him two of my four minutes.

This matter is about education centres, ECs, and the appointment of directors. Education centres lead and manage continuing professional development for primary and post-primary teachers. They also manage support services for the Department of Education and Skills, working specifically with teacher education services. There are 21 full-time ECs in Ireland. In developed countries, the position of director is permanent. The contract is for a five-year period in this country and the Minister proposes now to limit the appointment to one five-year period. Also, in August of this year on foot of a legal note indicating that no directives had been issued under section 37 of the Education Act 1998 to include regulations, he decided to include regulations. The Drumcondra EC was only alerted to the new regulations on 22 August, eight days before they took effect. It replied on 24 August but received no response from the Department. There was no official consultation. The effect of these amendments is to ensure directors would be limited to one five-year period in the post. Previously, in 2012, the then Minister had agreed that this policy was a mistake and should not be implemented. A subsequent Minister said the same and so did the Taoiseach.

Circular 11/02 from the Department of Education and Skills states that in the case of existing secondment to Department programmes, an application for a further extension may be considered. The Minister reappointed a director to the Teaching Council in May this year and, therefore, there is a clear contradiction. The result of the new regulation will be that by September 2018, some 18 of the 21 directors will have two years or less experience. As a result of this, corporate memory, connections, experience, knowledge and skill will all be lost. On a human level, one director relocated her house to a position one minute from DEC. She will now have to return to a school, which is many miles away, and she will also lose 15 years of pension entitlements. Eight directors will return after 15 years to an alien teaching environment. A reply from the Minister to a parliamentary question tabled by Deputy John Curran on 28 September is riddled with inaccuracies. For example, no account is taken of the fact that directors come from management ranks and not from teaching positions. Secondments were not required to be certified until 2007.