In a letter to the editor of The Irish Times and published on 4 September 2009, IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, writes:
“We impose financial charges (for example for refuse collection, water supply, etc) as an instrument to discourage usage. Yet we are expected to suspend our disbelief when the Minister for Education says that re-imposing [...]
The General Secretary of IFUT, Mike Jennings, has called on university managements to work with IFUT and other employee representative bodies in the sector to present a strong and comprehensive response and resistance to the cuts proposed in last week’s McCarthy/An Bord Snip Nua Report.
“In view of the crisis now facing our sector, I am [...]
IFUT has issued a Press Release in initial response to the report by “An Bord Snip Nua”.
“This report, and, in particular, the parts of it which relate to education, will come to be regarded as one of the most short-sighted documents in Irish education history. At a time when more and more people are turning [...]
The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, has today (16 July 2009) released the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. The Group, popularly known as An Bord Snip Nua, which has sat for the last six months, was chaired by UCD Economist, Colm McCarthy.
The Press Statement announcing the release of [...]
The HEA has published the Employment Control Framework for the Higher Education Sector.
This Framework was promised in the letter of 1 April from the HEA to the President/Provost of each of the seven Universities. This letter was sent in response to a letter from the Department of Finance to the Department of Education and Science [...]
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) welcomes the efforts by Fine Gael to find a means of dealing with the chronic underfunding of our higher education system without doing the serious damage to participation rates which the reintroduction of undergraduate fees would inevitably cause.
“Whilst Fine Gael’s proposals would require some further discussion and fine [...]
“Speaking as a representative of the generation that benefited from the decision of Donagh O’Malley to introduce free second-level education, I can testify to the very real difference that not having to pay fees makes to individuals and society alike,” Mike Jennings, General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), said, addressing a [...]
IFUT has expressed dismay at the range and extent of cutbacks affecting education in Budget 2008.
The Minister for Education, Mr Batt O’Keefe, TD, has displayed a lack of understanding and failed to impress on the Minister for Finance the importance of adequately funding education to promote economic and social development, IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings [...]
In a letter (unpublished) to The Irish Times, the President, Joe Brady, writes:
“Minister Bat O´Keeffe is right to raise the issue of how universities spend the public’s money. Without doubt, universities should get value for money and spending decisions should be taken in an open and transparent manner. This union has questioned the wisdom of [...]