The blue and yellow flag was triumphant over the president's chair at the ASTI head office in Winetavern Street, Dublin. The president himself was exuberant as he recalled the weekend's triumph. All-Ireland hurling finals don't happen to your county every day - his only regret was that, as president of the ASTI, he was in the "soft seats" where enthusiasm such as his is not normally encountered.

John Hurley attended national school in Milltown Malbay, Co Clare, and then it was on to St Flannan's in Ennis, where Bishop Willie Walsh was his maths teacher. He graduated from UCG with a degree in English and geography and, after a brief sojourn teaching in Abbeyfeale Vocational School, Limerick, he moved to Crescent College Comprehensive, Limerick, where he is now head of English. He is the second member of staff to become president of the ASTI.

Hurley has been active in the ASTI since the early Eighties. From branch secretary for Limerick south, he became a member of the central executive committee and then a member of the standing committee. Last year he was teacher combined with vice-president.

If his shopping list as president is to be even halffilled, he will need all his skills as a negotiator. "This year," he says, "I will try to focus on the teacher in the classroom. We need to recognise that he or she has to be a garda, a psychologist and a nurse as well as a teacher."

Industry has commented favourably on our education system but Hurley does not want it to be taken for granted. Teachers are being put to the pin of their collars, he says. The first thing that should be to decrease their workload by reducing the pupil-teacher ratio - he says that a figure in the region of 18 pupils to one teacher would be acceptable. "For schools to be administered properly, reduced hours for postholders must be built in," says Hurley.

He is also concerned about disruptive pupils. They are in practically every school, he says. He is generally supportive of the suggestion of a special facility where these pupils would be properly taught by experienced teachers. Parents who see their children's education being diminished by disruptive pupils would support the idea.

Money spent on education is not a speculative investment, says John Hurley. "It's money well spent. I would ask the Minister for Education to prioritise the reduction of the pupil-teacher ratio at second level. I understand that there is one psychologist for every 18,000 pupils. This must be addressed if there is a commitment to overcome disadvantage. There is also a need for more guidance counsellors."

He notes that the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, has set up a committee on the points system - "our question is simply to know if there is a better way. We're prepared to look at this."

The ASTI will also be looking at the issue of grind schools this year. "We will be pointing out very clearly that the best education you can get is in a voluntary secondary school or community school or college."

Another concern of Hurley's is the issue of part-time and temporary whole-time teachers. "The ASTI has to stongly focus on protecting these people in their jobs. They are among the most vulnerable of our members. Normally May is a good time for the permanent whole-time teacher coming up to the holidays, but for part-time and temporary whole-time teachers it's a miserable time because they don't know if they are going to have a job next year. The ASTI should not tolerate this situation. The way to solve it is to make as many teachers as possible permanent."

Hurley has been very involved with Transition Year. He supports the programme but expresses concern about the cost to pupils and parents. "I don't want a situation developing where you have a hierarchy of Transition Years where some people can afford expensive programmes and others can't. I don't think anyone should be excluded from participating fully in Transition Year because of the cost."

He wants Junior Cert pupils to be given the choice of having their results posted home or collecting them in the schools. The National Parents Council-Post Primary made a similar call in recent weeks.

As we spoke, the ASTI was hosting an inservice session on adult education. This is traditionally the preserve of the VECs but the ASTI is encouraging as many secondlevel schools as possible to become involved.

In-service education for principals also exercises Hurley's mind. He says that there should be some in-service training for newly-appointed principals - one day they are teaching, the next day they are principals and there is no transition phase.

If John Hurley's year as president is to be as successful as his county's hurling team, the ASTI is in for a busy time.