Principals in plea to spare schools from 'disastrous' cuts
- Last Updated: Monday, 06 October 2008 01:00
By Shane Hickey
THE Government should resist the urge to chop primary school funding and instead inject more cash in preparation for when the economy takes an upward turn, say principals.
In a submission prior to next week's Budget, the Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) has urged ministers to spare the sector when cuts are being decided over the next week.
"Cutting back on the primary education budget will have disastrous consequences for the future -- it's comparable to a farmer selling his seed in times of hunger," said IPPN president Larry Fleming.
Making cuts in schools would be "imprudent", said the IPPN, when what is needed is a long-term investment, similar to the commitment given to the banks last week.
"The Government must devise creative solutions to financing investments in education. Introducing a specific state-guaranteed pension plan for under-40s could provide substantial finance for capital investment in the School Building Programme," said Sean Cottrell, director of the IPPN.
Within the submission is a call for a "realistic increase" in the level of capitation to primary schools at a time when 90pc have to engage in fundraising.
The current method of funding schools "is such a crude and blunt instrument that it is wasteful, particularly in its inability to target resources to address actual need", said the body.
Instead, it said, the Department of Education should put in place a system where schools have greater responsibility over their resources.
Meanwhile, objectors to the controversial M3 motorway project claim in a pre-Budget report that the current National Development Plan is illegal.
TaraWatch wants a spending freeze on all infrastructural projects that could have significant effects on the environment.
It claims the Government is using 'cowboy economics' in an effort to fund a National Development Plan that breaches EU and Irish environmental law.
