EDUCATION:A POLITICAL row has developed since the announcement yesterday by Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe that he will be looking for a 3 per cent cut in payroll costs from third level institutions and the vocational education system.
Announcing the spending cutbacks on Tuesday, both the Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said that frontline staff in the primary and secondary education system would not be affected by the 3 per cent payroll reduction target.
Mr O'Keeffe yesterday clarified that the third level sector and the VECs will have to beat the target, and said he was writing to them to spell out the need for payroll cuts.
Fine Gael Education spokesman Brian Hayes attacked the Minister for his approach and maintained that it flew in the face of the statement by the Taoiseach 24 hours earlier that Education would be exempt from payroll cuts. "It is already crystal clear that frontline education services are to bear the brunt of the Government's cutbacks with the quality of education to suffer badly," said Mr Hayes.
"This is a gross act of deception by the Fianna Fáil Government and Minister Batt O'Keeffe."
Mr Hayes said that ordering cutbacks in education also ran counter to the Taoiseach's claim that the Government was still striving to maintain and build Ireland's knowledge economy.
"I can't think of any greater way to damage the knowledge economy than by slashing education budgets," he added.
VECs and third level colleges also reacted strongly to the Minister's announcement. The president of UCD, Hugh Brady, said he could not see how cuts could be made without affecting students and researchers at the college.