‘We're low hanging fruit': Adult educators protest potential layoffs amid budget restraints in sector
He was speaking outside Leinster House on Wednesday in protest of what he described as the 'scandalous' treatment of workers in
Education and Training Boards
(ETBs) who teach adults re-entering education, many of whom 'would have been failed the first time round by the education system,' Mr O'Keefe says.
He said many teachers in the sector are on precarious fixed-term contracts that they 'had no choice but to take'. Adult educators 'are entitled to a contract of indefinite duration after four years of work', he said, meaning those with less than that now face unemployment after the summer break.
He said teachers with up to three years experience were told via phone call 'they have no jobs to go to in September'.
READ MORE
'Because they're on fixed-term contracts still, legally, there isn't an issue with this. No employment law has been breached, but where's the justice for these people? It's atrocious,' Mr O'Keefe said.
Adult Education Teachers, who are facing job losses in September, have protested outside Leinster House. Video: Bryan O'Brien
He said widespread underfunding of the sector as the reason for these job cuts, which have been initiated by ETBs across the country.
He attributes blame to Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless as 'he's the minister responsible for allocating funding to the funding body Solas', the State agency that oversees further education and training facilities.
'They're panicking all of a sudden, 'how do we make up these gaps in our budgets? Well, they're the low-hanging fruit, let's get rid of them',' he said. 'It's incredibly disrespectful and it's causing so much stress and uncertainty for so many people'.
Mr O'Keeffe says the students they teach are 'often from disadvantaged communities, so they're looking to improve their employment prospects, they're looking to gain access to further and higher education. Often, we're assisting them to navigate their way a bit more easily through, what's often from them, a hostile society'.
Adult education teachers protesting on Wednesday. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien
Finn Mac Aodháin has worked as an adult educator in Co Donegal for three years, delivering modules in literacy, communications, and the Irish language. He said his students are often people 'who have escaped the net, so to speak, or had a very bad experience with education'.
He said many of his students are also refugees arriving from war-torn countries.
'Despite having similar, or actually in many cases the same, qualifications as postsecondary teachers,' Mr Mac Aodháin said his profession is not valued as such, and is often described as 'a non-teaching role' in internal communications in his place of employment.
He does not know if he has a job in September because 'we're laid off during the break periods', he said. 'Of course it's having a mental health toll on me. I have a young family ... All this uncertainty, it's not a great state of affairs at all. It's a pitiful situation'.
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Irish Times
32 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, July16th: On children in direct provision, EV charging and swimming safely
Sir, – Through the work of our organisations, we see the experiences of children, young people and their families in communities all across Ireland. We hear of the hardship and the daily struggles families are facing just to get by each week. This is particularly apparent when it comes to children and families living in direct provision. In recent weeks, the media has been full of talk and promises to address child poverty in the upcoming budget and yet these children, who are among the most at risk of poverty in the country, have been waiting far too long for these promises to be fulfilled. Funds for a child-specific income support for those living in international protection were secured in both Budgets 2024 and 2025, but still – nothing has come to fruition. Currently, children and young people living in the international protection system receive just €29.80 per week. Despite significant increases in the cost of living, this has remained unchanged since 2019. In February 2021 the Government committed to introduce an 'additional monthly payment per child in the form of an International Protection Child Payment' in their White Paper to end direct provision. READ MORE The payment was due to be made available in 2022. With Budget 2024 and Budget 2025 allocating €4.7 million and €8.4 million respectively to deliver this payment, children and young people are still waiting for this to happen. Children living in direct provision are the only group of children in the country to see zero increase in supports through successive budgets. Without any means to tackle the increased cost of living, these children are more likely to get pulled into poverty which affects all aspects of their life, from their health and nutrition to their social and emotional development. This is simply not good enough and in a country as wealthy as Ireland, there is no excuse. The investment is there; we now need to see implementation of the International Protection Child Payment as a matter of urgency. We cannot expect children and families to be able to maintain a decent standard of living with less than €30 a week. Even basic essentials are often miles out of reach. These are children and young people growing up in accommodation with no cooking facilities and without adequate income support, we hear of children eating cold meals or carbohydrate-heavy food for months on end. We are even aware of an instance where a young child ate sugar straight from the bag as a desperate means to keep hunger cravings at bay. Young people in direct provision have expressed how a lack of income means they have few opportunities to take part in activities with their friends and peers after school. The financial cost of school trips, after-school activities such as sport or dance class, or even just going out with friends are mere fantasies, creating major barriers for them to integrate or participate in their local communities. We have heard no good reason as to why this vital income support has not been implemented, because there is none. We cannot face into a third budget cycle with no progress made at all on measures we should already see in train. The current programme for government states that the Government will 'set an ambitious child poverty target ensuring a focus on inequality'. If they are to truly realise this commitment, we must see real action to lift all children and young people in direct provision out of poverty. We urge the Government to act immediately on this by providing an adequate child payment for those in direct provision with the funding secured in Budgets 2024 and 2025. – Yours, etc, TANYA WARD, Chief executive, Children's Rights Alliance, SUZANNE CONNOLLY, Chief executive, Barnardos, TERESA HEENEY, CEO, Early Childhood Ireland, NICK HENDERSON, CEO, Irish Refugee Council, MARY CUNNINGHAM, CEO, National Youth Council of Ireland, LOUISE BAYLISS, Head of Social Justice and Policy, Society of St Vincent de Paul, (And 13 others) Dublin. Portiuncula hospital Sir, – The decision by the HSE on the future operations at the Portiuncula Maternity Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway puzzle me ('M aternity services across Ireland should be reviewed, expert group urges following Portiuncula report ,' July 9th). Would it not have been better to remove from the hospital the dangers to the patients rather than the patients? – Yours, etc, GERALDINE GREGAN, Clarecastle, Co Clare. Culture and exclusivity Sir, – I was taken aback by the headline ' Forget bonfires, Croke Park is where our culture is this weekend, ' (July 14th). What I found most disturbing was the use of the word 'our' and its exclusivity as regards culture on this island. It is absolutely true that Moygashel was a disgrace. However, in general, Orange Order parades go off peacefully, if somewhat noisily at times. The Orange Order and its general secretary, Mervyn Gibson, have done a lot of good work in this regard in recent years as have people in west Belfast in relation to transferring energies into féile an phobail events. In 2018 I attended the Belfast 12th of July parade as part of an official Irish government delegation, led by then minister for tourism and sport Brendan Griffin. Before the parade we had a meeting in the Grand Central Hotel with members of the Orange Order which was friendly and informative. Indeed, during the parade it stopped where we were standing and the grand marshall and others came over to welcome us and shake our hands. Surely, if we are to have reconciliation on this island we need to embrace cultures other than the very important, but not exclusive, 'Gaelic' culture and here I refer to the 'tribe' and not the game. Because the headline would indicate that there is one legitimate culture on this island which is the sole repository of 'our' culture. Moygashel and other excesses, appalling as they may be, should not be taken as a reason to reject the loyalist/unionist culture as a legitimate and equal culture on this island. I say this as someone who is a strong believer in Irish unity and a lifelong GAA member. Indeed, the validation of different cultures is a pre-requisite to unity. I believe the headline betrays a somewhat partitionist mentality which has been gaining currency in the Republic where we are defining ourselves in increasingly separatist terms. Here, I must acknowledge the outstanding and vital research being conducted by ARINS, led by Prof Brendan O'Leary and supported by The Irish Times in relation to North/South issues, often without sufficient recognition. Also, I am sure Malachy Clerkin, a journalist whom I admire greatly, was not being perniciously exclusive. But separation rather than unity is a creeping trend. – Yours, etc, JIM D'ARCY, Blackrock, Co Louth. Up Meath, and Donegal Sir, – Instilled with a pride for Meath football from a very early age (by a very proud Meath woman, my mother), I reflected upon the scoreline from the semi-final on Sunday. While it may have been far from the desired outcome on the day, but at a time where sad news, bad news, and global uncertainty can dominate the world headlines, this Meath team gave us something to focus on, lifting the spirits of the county, creating great banter with our neighbours, and a few great trips to Croke Park over the summer! It reignited many happy childhood memories, of Sunday afternoons over great summers. Our household, and my loyal friend Catherine, cheering for the greats such as Martin O'Connell, Robbie O'Malley, David Beggy, Graham Geraghty, Liam Hayes, Trevor Giles to name only a few, and when Ollie Murphy got that ball, we knew great scores were ahead! I will always remember the excitement when Liam Hayes brought the Sam Maguire to our school in Westmeath (thanks to his sister, who was our amazing English teacher). The excitement and passion in her eyes on sharing the experience was so energising. Meath have a fantastic up and coming team and I look forward to the future experiences that they will lead us through. Donegal played a great game on Sunday. Their supporters were brilliant craic, and on Sunday it was their turn to have the excitement in their eyes. Wishing them the very, very best to take it all the way in the All-Ireland. In the meanwhile, I'll proudly display my Meath flag, for another while. Up Meath! – Yours, etc, ISOBEL HARRIS, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Sir, – Please allow me a few personal thoughts on last Sunday's semi-final between Donegal and Meath. I watched in awe our wonderful Donegal boys play with such brilliance and passion, that my heart near stopped and a few tears appeared. I'm going to put myself out there, and say, with the greatest of respect to Kerry: No team could possibly beat such brilliance and passion. So be it. – Yours, etc, BRIAN McDEVITT, Glenties, Co Donegal. Charging your vehicles at home Sir, – I totally agree with the selection of reader responses regarding the challenges of public charging of EVs. It is not good enough and a lot of public charging doesn't fit the profile of its users. However, I think it would have been good to get the perspective of somebody with a driveway and a home charger. For these people, EVs are a brilliant idea. A fuel pump in your driveway that fills the car overnight at cheap prices? Sign me up. Well, I did sign up 3½ years ago, and my average annual fuel bill is about ¤150 for 15,000km. And I have never had to wait for a public charger because less than 10 per cent of my charging is done publicly, generally on holidays. There are a lot of petrol and diesel cars sitting in driveways this morning that could just as easily be EVs with home charging at no inconvenience to their drivers. – Yours, etc, CHRIS CUMMINS, Sandyford, Dublin 18. City centre and apartment living Sir, – Richard Allen (Letters, July 15th) notes that despite long campaigning for the desirability of apartments, former Irish Times environment editor, Frank McDonald, has now 'changed his mind' and decided to move to the suburbs, perhaps missing the fact that Mr McDonald has moved from one apartment to another. Mr McDonald explained his move was due to several factors including the Government's failure to protect city centre apartment dwellers with appropriate 'European style' noise control legislation. Those of us agreeing with Mr McDonald, that apartments are desirable, environmentally friendly and suitable for many Irish people, are dismayed to find the Government once again lowering apartment standards rather than introducing a coherent planning and regulatory framework to support apartment and city centre living. The focus should be on giving people the option to live in the city centre, rather than the option to move out. – Yours, etc, STEPHEN WALL, Rialto, Dublin 8. Sir, – May I correct Frank McDonald when he refers to the Meeting House in Eustace Street as a Presbyterian Meeting House (' Why I moved out of Temple Bar after 25 years: I feared our home would become uninhabitable, ' July 12th)? It was in fact a Quaker Meeting House (Society of Friends) Meeting House. With respect. – Yours, etc, HELEN BAILY, Dublin. Swimming safety and rip currents Sir, – Too many of our young people especially are drowning in our seas and rivers on an all too regular basis, often caused by rip currents. Many of these tragedies are completely avoidable, even for non-swimmers. People tend to panic when they encounter a rip current and assume you must try to swim ashore to survive it, however the current will only pull you offshore, exhaustion sets in and, too often, tragedy strikes. What one actually needs to do to survive a rip current is to swim parallel to the shore (or wade if possible) until you are free of the rip, only then should you swim or wade ashore. Why aren't there more visible preventative guidelines on rip currents available from Water Safety Ireland? Guidelines on signs at beaches? Maybe a summer television ad demonstrating what to do if one encounters a rip current, for example? Information confined to an authority's website is not going to have the same reach. Let's not lose any more people unnecessarily to our waters. – Yours, etc, ANNETTE CANTWELL, Perrystown, Dublin 12. Continuing woes of letter writers Sir, – I've been writing letters to The Irish Times for years, mainly criticising Ireland's role as an international tax haven. You think you notice patterns over the years (very subjective this). I used to have a hit rate of one in three letters being published. A few years ago I wrote strident letters (unpublished) criticising having Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe reviewing books on economics. My hit rate fell to one in five around then and has stayed like that until recently. To my surprise my letter critical of Paschal Donohoe's reviews was published a couple of months ago. This is my 14th letter since and none have been published. Is this a record? – Yours, etc, PAUL CONNOLLY, Cavan. Sir, – Until recently, in the Letters page, you regularly printed an advisory to letter writers that it is possible to find space for only a small selection of the many letters received. In doing so, you yourself used up valuable space. Lately, you've taken to publishing letters by letter writers about letter writers, often themselves, whose letters have not been published. Words fail me. – Yours, etc, MICHAEL KEEGAN, Booterstown, Co Dublin. Sir, – If you think it's difficult to get a letter printed in the Irish Times (Rejection is cruel, but rejection by..., Letters, July 15th), you should try The Guardian! – Yours, etc, BILL REDMOND, Edinburgh Scotland. Sir, – 'A rejection may spoil your breakfast but you shouldn't let it spoil your lunch,' to paraphrase Kingsley Amis. – Yours, etc, ANNE MARIE KENNEDY, Co Galway.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Joe Soap for president
Sir, – I wonder if the people of Ireland would like an ordinary Joe Soap as president. Somebody like me, for instance. I am not well known. I am not a member of any party. My achievements in life are extremely modest. I am not very articulate. I can't write for nuts. I have no grand messages for the people of Ireland. I am neither rich nor poor, though closer to poor. READ MORE I can't imagine anything I would do or say as president would offend any ordinary person like myself. I would continue to live in my modest home. The Áras could be converted into apartments for poor people. And 90 per cent of my salary would go to community groups. I would receive foreign dignitaries in my home as I receive all guests and visitors (I make a mean lemon cake). Don't all trample over each other in your rush to nominate me. – Yours, etc, TOM KELLY, Broadstone, Dublin 7.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Student accommodation: Just 116 of 1,000 ‘emergency response' beds will be delivered this year
Just over 100 student beds out of more than 1,000 identified under an 'emergency response' to student accommodation shortages are to be delivered for the coming academic year, an Oireachtas committee has heard. The short-term activation programme was one of several initiatives approved in 2022 to stimulate the development of new student accommodation. Described as an 'emergency response' at the time, it aimed to build student accommodation that already had planning permission but it couldn't proceed due to the high cost of construction. Some €100 million was allocated from 2024 to 2026 to fund the 1,016 beds at Maynooth University, Dublin City University (DCU) and University College Dublin (UCD). READ MORE However, a committee meeting on Tuesday evening heard that just 116 are on track to be delivered for Maynooth this year. A 2015 Higher Education Authority report estimated there was an unmet demand of about 25,000 beds Sinn Féin TD Donna McGettigan, who said students are under 'severe stress' due to accommodation challenges, described the 116 beds as 'just not good enough.' 'How long is it going to take to put in the 1,000 beds if you're only at 116 in one year?' she said. Paul Lemass, assistant secretary at the Department of Higher Education said: 'It has been a challenging process in a very high inflationary context to get the kind of movement that we would have hoped on the short-term programme but we have 116 beds that will be ready for September.' Construction is yet to begin on the beds for DCU and UCD, the committee heard. A 2015 Higher Education Authority report estimated there was an unmet demand of about 25,000 beds, with key drivers being rising student numbers and a large demand for international student places. While output was tracking 'quite well' until the pandemic, with almost 10,000 beds provided until the end of 2020, 'completions dropped significantly in the post-Covid period,' Mr Lemass said. 'Clearly developers looking at Covid got a shock and then no sooner was Covid over, they got a second shock through Ukraine and the cost of living and inflation. So we have undoubtedly been set back,' he said. 'Frankly, we have struggled to recover,' he said. Asked what the unmet student bed need was now, Mr Lemass said the department is in the process of modelling the figure out to 2035. The committee heard there is currently about 49,000 purpose-built student accommodation beds across the country, 16,000 of which are publicly owned. 'We absolutely recognise that there's a shortfall in accommodation,' Mr Lemass said. Separately, Mr Lemass told committee members the department expects approximately 1,800 beds to return to the student accommodation sector this year. The beds were previously used to accommodate international protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees and are expected to return to the sector following a recent review of accommodation contracts by the Department of Children. While there was a need for flexibility, 'given pressures in other sectors', Mr Lemass acknowledged it was 'very disappointing' when properties are taken out of the student accommodation sector for other purposes.
