Up to 4,000 expected at Tullamore education protest

Up to four thousand people are expected to march through the streets of Tullamore tomorrow (Saturday) in protest against the government cuts in education. Offaly primary school teachers are appealing to Offaly parents to 'be your child"s voice' and show their anger at the budget cuts announced by Minister Batt O"Keefe, which they say will lead to 1,100 teachers losing their jobs. Protesters will assemble at the Tullamore Court Hotel from 1.45pm and move off at 2pm to O"Connor Square. Speeches by John Carr general secretary, as well as local INTO representatives, will take place from 2.30pm. Helen O"Gorman the Midlands INTO representative, Sandra Noone the Tullamore branch secretary, Liam Broderick the Birr/Banagher branch secretary and Kevin Duffy the Edenderry branch secretary will attend the protest. 'All schools held meetings lately so there will be a big turnout, but not only of teachers but all those who are affected, parents, members of parents" associations, board of managements, children ... anybody who these cuts are going to affect should attend,' said Kevin Duffy, who is principal of Scoil Bhride in Edenderry. From September 2009 Tullamore"s Scoil Mhuire will lose five teachers, while Scoil Bhride and Educate Together will lose one. Killeigh NS, Lumcloon NS, Banagher and Cloghan NS will lose one teacher each while Mucklagh NS will not receive an extra teacher. John Carr, General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers" Organisation, will tell protesters that the budget is a savage attack on the primary education system and the pupils in primary schools. 'In 2002, government promised classes of less than 20. Just last year the government promised year on year reductions in class sizes. They broke their word. Now in 2008, we are expected to accept another political promise from this Government,' said Carr, speaking to the Offaly Independent. He said the price that children are being asked to pay is significant. As well as the cuts in teacher posts, no teaching cover will be provided when a teacher gets sick and has no medical cert, there will be a massive reduction in language support for newcomer children, class sizes will be the largest in Europe, funding for Traveller children and special needs will be slashed, the free book scheme will be abolished in most schools, library funding will end and there will be a 5% cut in primary school building programmes. Labour Tullamore Town Councillor Sean O"Brien is strongly urging everybody to support the protest tomorrow. 'I fully support the parents, students and teachers who will be protesting against the cutbacks in education announced in the Budget. The Budget was a Budget of a thousand cuts and most of them are in Education and Health,' he said. 'All of these cutbacks are hurting the vulnerable and especially students at primary level who need that vital bit of extra help, the least we can give our children is a basic sound education. At the same time the big earners, and especially those who made the big bucks during the boom Celtic Tiger era, are getting away scott free.'