Ruddy Supports INTO Demonstration on Education Cuts
Published: 15 November, 2008
Ruddy Supports INTO Demonstration on Education Cuts
Sean Ruddy, Sinn Féin candidate for North Inishowen has come out in support of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO). A demonstration will be held at 2pm in the Square, Donegal Town on Saturday the 29th November to highlight the huge injustice that the current government has brought to bear on the education of our children today.
Sean goes on to say 'I have been notified by a school in North Inishowen where the budget cuts has had a devastating impact on each and every child in the school. We have a situation whereby the school in question will no longer benefit from an extra teacher, as they would have had under the existing staffing schedule. Not only has the book grant, used to help families in difficult circumstances been abolished, but also the funding for special equipment and library books will no longer be available to this school. The Special Education Needs Act of 2004 has also been delayed and this will inevitably diminish the development of each child within this fundamental sector of our educational system.
In advance of Budget 2009 Fianna Fáil and the Green Party promised to protect the vulnerable and frontline health and education services. But what they have in fact delivered is one of the most inequitable budgets in recent memory. Many promises were made during the last election campaign by the then education minister, Mary Hanifan, but again, we have seen this government going back on their word and making false promises to the people of Ireland.
There should be no cuts in frontline services such as health and education. The provision of such services should be cloaked in investment. The public finance crisis, despite being of Fianna Fáil's making, must be tackled, but this government had choices. Sinn Féin in its pre budget submission suggested a range of public finance measures which would have yielded up to €2 billion per annum. These measures would have delivered an equitable mechanism to tackle the public finance crisis whilst in tandem ensured the protection of frontline services.
The government does not have public support, which is clearly evident since their budget was put forward. There is real public anger in relation to the government's total lack of foresight and concern for the underprivileged, the old and the youth. It my party's intention to support families and teachers in their campaign to get these cutbacks reversed and I am appealing to the public to do likewise and give their support by joining us on Saturday the 29th November.
This has a huge bearing on every family in our community. If these cuts are not reversed now, this will deprive our children and future generations of their basic rights to a good education.
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