Address by the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D., to the Annual Conference of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (AMCSS)
Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny Thursday, 29 April 2010

Introduction
A dhaoine uaisle, is breá liom teacht anseo inniu chun labhairt le bhur gcruinniú bliantúil.  Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as bhur gcuireadh a bheith anseo, mar go dtugann sé deis dom aitheantas a thabhairt don sárobair a dhéanann sibh go léir ar son scoláirí na tíre seo.

Aithním go bhfuil ról lárnach agaibh i gcúrsaí oideachais agus gur fearr go mór an toradh atá ar fhoghlaim scoláirí na hÉireann dá bharr sin.  Agus é sin ráite, tá dúshláin romhainn a chaithfimid aghaidh a thabhairt orthu, thar ceann na scoláirí sna scoileanna agus ar mhaithe le leas na tíre ina hiomláine.

Good afternoon and thank very much you for your kind invitation to address your 23rd annual conference.

At the outset, I would like to say that I am very much aware of the valuable contribution of the voluntary secondary school sector to post primary education in this country.  Ireland’s history of provision at post primary level would be very different today if it were not for the role of the voluntary sector.  Not only would that history be significantly shorter, but the historic capacity of the Irish people would have been significantly less.  In changed and changing times, it is a contribution and legacy to be proud of.  I want this afternoon to acknowledge that important role and also your current role as a school management body and education partner.

This afternoon is also an opportunity for me to place on record my appreciation and gratitude for the invaluable work carried out at the level of each individual school by those of you who serve on Boards of Management in our schools.  Individuals give voluntarily of their time across the country in this regard.  It is an important role and contribution, not just in terms of the individual school but also in that school’s community.

I know that recent years have brought about significant change at trustee level through the establishment of the various trust boards.  I have no doubt the trusts will seek to perpetuate the best traditions of the religious orders they are replacing and their long history of service to Irish education.

In the short time since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills, I have had a very speedy introduction to the annual round of education conferences.  As you know over Easter I set out at the teacher union conferences some of the major issues and challenges that will face us in the education sector in the coming years.  I want to take this opportunity today to share my thoughts about the road ahead with you as leaders in our schools system.

Economic and Budgetary Context
In any discussion about what we might desire for our education system, as we plan ahead, it would be unrealistic not to take account of the current economic context and environment and the very real restraints on public expenditure.

This has been one of the most challenging periods for any government in the history of this country.  Difficult decisions have been taken to secure the viability of our banking and financial systems and to restore order to our public finances.  I know that this has caused real concern and hardship for many individuals, but taking action to deal with our current difficulties is fundamental to ensuring the long term sustainability of public service provision, including education.

International confidence in the steps the Government is taking is also essential.  We continue to witness in the case of our euro-zone partner, Greece, the consequences, if such international confidence is lacking.  Ireland must continue to demonstrate that it is robustly committed to sorting out its difficulties.  This is important in terms of the bond market and the rate of interest at which we can borrow to pay for public services.  A stable environment is also a key consideration for those who might bring further direct foreign investment to Ireland and increase employment.

The determined path adopted by Ireland has been recognised internationally.  Overseas eyes are now watching to see if we stay the course and see it through.

We still have many more steps to take.  A further €3 billion of adjustments – from a combination of capital expenditure, reducing the cost of public services and taxation – must be found in the next budget.  That task will not be easy.  For the education sector these realities clearly constrain our capacity to procure additional resources for all those aspects of the school system that we may wish for, even though cogent arguments can be made about their value.  We are still in a position where we need to reduce public expenditure not increase it.  It is not realistic to expect that expenditure on education can in some way be totally exempted.  We have the added difficulty that increased numbers will be attending our schools over the coming period.  At a time when we need to reduce spending the demographics are creating upward budgetary pressure.

Additional Teaching Posts
In that context, it is important to recognise that we have in fact prioritised, as best as possible, front-line services in the education sector.  That prioritisation is evident in the commitments on teacher allocations to schools set out in the renewed Programme for Government.  Over and above funding the extra teaching posts to cover increased enrolments, five hundred extra posts will be provided to the school sector over a three year period.  Following our consultations with you, and the other education partners, the first tranche of these posts have already been allocated to schools.

These posts are being allocated to schools based on clear and transparent agreed criteria.  One hundred posts were allocated earlier this year at post-primary level targeted at enhancing the existing arrangements for the provision of learning support for our second level students.

A further one hundred posts for the coming school year are being used to increase subject choice in post-primary schools.  This is being achieved in two ways.  Firstly, additional posts are being targeted at co-educational schools in single post-primary catchment areas to support wider subject choice.  This approach recognises that such schools are under more pressure to provide a wider subject choice than a single sex school.

Secondly, additional posts for the coming school year are being allocated to post-primary schools that decide to work together with other local post-primary schools to increase subject choice in a town or area.  While in the past, schools in some areas have done so, what we want to achieve here is that all schools look afresh beyond their own boundaries; to see if there are creative ways of working jointly with other nearby post-primary schools that result in more subject options being available to the pupils in each school.

I am happy to report that there is some evidence already that schools are responding to this measure.  We have recently received some interesting applications from schools that are proposing to work together from September to improve subject choice in areas such as technology, applied maths, science subjects etc.  We have looked positively on these applications with a view to supporting them through the allocation of some additional staffing resources.  We need to encourage more of this type of cooperation between schools, so that we can make best use of whatever resources we have available given current constraints.

We will also be consulting with you and the other partners on how best to use the remaining posts that are to be allocated to schools from September 2011.

Moratorium
I know the moratorium has caused particular difficulties for many of you.  The fact is, however, that the putting in place of the public service wide moratorium on the filling of vacancies and promotions is an important part of the strategy I have already spoken about to get or public finances back on track.

Public service pay is a huge element of public expenditure and the total bill is determined by the number of public servants and the pay rates payable to them.  The moratorium is a key control measure aimed at reducing the number of public servants.

In contrast to what is happening in other areas of the public service, the Government has already tapered application of the moratorium to schools by providing for a growth in teacher numbers and allowing from the outset the automatic filling of principal and deputy principal posts.  This is a significant statement of our public spending priorities in difficult times.

I fully accept however that the moratorium has impacted severely on some schools where the number of posts of responsibility falling vacant is significant arising from retirements.  I appreciate that this has created real difficulties for principals in those schools and I know that upcoming retirements or the appointment of people to principal and deputy principal posts in the coming months will impact further on middle management posts.

I can confirm that we are working with the Department of Finance on finding an appropriate adjustment to how the moratorium should apply for the next school year.  I am conscious that whatever limited alleviation can be made needs to be determined soon, so that schools are ready for the autumn.  However, any view that it will be possible to end the moratorium altogether for assistant principal and special duties posts is misplaced.  The position whereby over half of all teaching posts have involved some type of management allowance is simply unsustainable having regard to the need to control the public service pay bill.

Reducing the Burden of Administration
The moratorium is just one of the challenges that you face in managing your schools.  I know that your conference has been exploring issues relating to the management of voluntary secondary schools and the challenges facing school management in an era of great change in Irish society.

My officials have also briefed me on your concern that the Department does not impose unnecessary administration on already hard pressed principals and school staff.   It is important that we take a fresh look at how we can help schools by looking at new and better ways of reducing their workloads – particularly at a time of reduced resources.  I know, President, that you and some of your colleagues have been engaged recently in discussions with my senior officials on particular ways this might be achieved.  You can be assured that if practical and feasible new ways of doing the necessary paperwork can be agreed, you will have my every support in implementation.

Funding for School Books
In the particular context of school funding arrangements, we are currently considering how certain grant payments can be made in the most efficient way possible to schools.  The objective is to ensure that the grant assistance for school books, and funding for various programmes such as junior certificate schools programme, transition year, the vocational and applied leaving certificate programmes, and physics and chemistry, can be provided in a streamlined manner that eases the administrative burden for schools and indeed for my own officials.

What we are working to achieve is the provision of school book support on a capitation basis.  Previously, schools were required to apply annually.  Under our new proposal, this will no longer be necessary.  We will make one standalone payment before the end of the current school year aimed at having funds available to schools for the start of the next school year.  Thereafter, the aim is to integrate it into the regular capitation payment system.  I want to encourage schools to use this funding to support, in particular, book rental and loan schemes.

Again, with the programme grants we envisage that this year we will make one capitation based payment in June to schools that have the programmes and subjects concerned and we are looking at integrating it into the capitation payments system in subsequent years.  My officials will be engaging with you and the other management bodies in the coming weeks on the detail of these new simplified arrangements.

Capital Programme
Despite the difficult financial backdrop, in line with the priority we attach to education, the Government has continued to prioritise the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.  Almost €579m has been allocated to the programme in 2010.

In the past couple of weeks, I announced that a total of €122 million will be provided for the Summer Works Scheme.  Some 368 post-primary schools are to benefit from works this summer as a result.

I know a project announced for a school is always welcome news but it does bring with it extra work for management boards, so I would like to acknowledge the role played by individual school authorities in the delivery of these building projects.

This investment demonstrates again our desire to continue to provide pupils and teachers with the best educational environment for teaching and learning, while contributing to the productive capacity of the economy and employment.

The Irish education system has a strong track record of providing high quality education and skills that are valued throughout the world.  From my experiences as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I know that this is a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment into Ireland.

To build on this status, we must continue to ensure that teaching and learning in our schools is focused on what our students will need.  As a country we are facing new challenges and new competitors which require our education system to adapt and adjust.  The traditional model of education with its emphasis on teacher-led instruction, and over reliance on the acquisition of knowledge as the basis for examination success may not be the best way to address these challenges.  Our new focus in education has to be on ensuring that our students acquire lifelong skills, become independent learners, critical thinkers, problem solvers and innovators.

As you carry out your management role in our secondary schools, the challenge will be to maintain the highest standards possible in these difficult times.

Curriculum Reform and Maths
Ongoing evaluation and reform of our curriculum is also crucial.  Our review of the junior cycle is now underway, I launched the public consultation element of that work being undertaken by the NCCA last week.  I will be listening carefully to the debate on the junior cycles as the review progresses.

Despite the reputation that Irish education enjoys throughout the world, a particular concern that I encountered in my previous role relates to the need to strengthen and expand our pool of maths and science graduates.

I support the Project Maths initiative.  I believe changes in our approach to the teaching of mathematics can contribute significantly to improving interest and achievement in maths across our second level system.  We are however at the beginning of a process that will take time to embed.  The introduction of a CAO points bonus for achievement in Leaving Certificate maths would also be an important and immediate step in addressing participation rates at honours maths level and achievement in maths generally.  It would equally send a very clear and positive signal to businesses at home and abroad that we are serious about enhancing the skill set of our future labour force.

The workplace of the future will increasingly be looking not for people who are simply able to give the right answer to questions about what they were taught in school, but workers who can make the right response to situations that they have not encountered before.  The challenge for our schools therefore is to produce future citizens who are capable of such critical thinking and can respond appropriately to diverse situations.

Society
At a time when economic issues dominate, it is also important to recognise that schools have a central role to play in providing successive generations not only with the skills and abilities necessary for work, but also to prepare young people to be active participants in an inclusive and cohesive society.

Within the educational system teachers play a critical role in developing the potential of our children and young people in that regard.  Our education system must continue to be responsive to, and supportive of, the social life of this country and in forming our young people for active participation in their communities and wider society in time to come.  I want to acknowledge the sterling work done throughout your schools away from the classroom in areas such as sport, music, public speaking and drama, as well as encouraging students towards engaging in voluntary activities.

Conclusion
In concluding, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say that I am very much looking forward to my new role in education and to working in partnership with the JMB/AMCSS over the period ahead.  I again want to acknowledge your valuable contribution to education in Ireland.

I wish you all well with your conference and in your work in the year ahead.
Guím gach rath ar imeachtaí bhur gcruinnithe. Go raibh maith agaibh.