Education Sector Pays The Cost Of Fianna Fail’s Mistakes – Mulvihill Snr

Cllr John Mulvihill snr has stated “The proposals in the Government’s Plan for National Recovery show that funding for education will suffer immensely over the coming four years. Each time this Fianna Fáil/Green Party government rolls out its latest wave of cutbacks, they claim that they do so with a heavy heart, and that they have somehow managed to ‘protect the vulnerable’. Their actions speak louder than words.”

This government has embarked on a policy of erecting barriers to education and condemning thousands many living in Cobh to remain on the dole queues instead of re-entering education. Their decision to increase third level fees is disappointing but unsurprising.

The introduction of a €200 charge for PLC courses is particularly shameful. This charge will punish those who have never had any opportunity to go on to third level education at a time when they need it most. We need to have a plan in place to ensure unemployed people can up-skill and retrain but introducing barriers at the point of entry is completely counterproductive.

In conclusion Cork East labour candidate Cllr John Mulvihill snr stated “ There will also be a 16% reduction in the non-pay elements of the education budget by 2014. This means parents will have to dig deeper to pay the cost of voluntary contributions and that the quality of education in our schools will suffer. The reduction in teacher numbers is almost certain to have a detrimental impact on our