25,000 protest in Cork against Education Cuts

Today about 25,000 Irish people have been marching through the streets of Cork city in protest against the government's cuts in the education budget.

The march was part of a series of protest demonstrations organised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), which says that children should not be made to pay for the current difficulties in our economy.

It was the third time since mid-October that teachers, pupils and their parents have taken to Ireland's streets, protesting against education cutbacks.
INTO's General Secretary John Carr (right) declared that the marches will continue until the cuts are reversed.

Meanwhile the Minister for Education, Fianna Fáil's Batt O'Keeffe (left) who comes from Cork, said that he "simply does not have the funds" to reverse the cuts. This is his mantra ever since the major education debate in the Dáil on October 29th/30th. And unlike other ministers, who have been busy looking for extra money or alternative ways of saving on expenses, O'Keeffe has just remained stubborn, repetitive and inflexible like a stick in the mud.

Many in the education sector, who welcomed the appointment of the former teacher at first, think now that he is not really up to the job of heading the Department of Education.

The Emerald Islander