Statement by South Antrim TUV candidate Richard Cairns:
“If the education budget is under the strain which O’Dowd claims it only serves to underscore the folly of his own policies.
“How can he say today that we could see 1,500 schools jobs go and yet a few weeks ago he was defending the opening of an Irish language school in Dungivan with just 15 pupils!
“Furthermore, in November last year the Education Department outlined plans for the development of Irish-medium post-primary education.
“Among the plans outlined by O’Dowd then were:
- All education policy proposals will be subject to “language proofing”;
- A lower intake rate will be set for post-primary Irish language schools;
- The Department will look at the need for “cross border post primary provision for Irish medium primary children in Fermanagh”;
- Bursaries should be offered to teachers willing to undergo conversion courses and move from English medium schools to Irish medium education;
- Incentives should be provided to all schools which encourage and provide GCSE and A-Level Irish by way of a pupil bursary or school fund to expand scholarships;
- A joint North-South approach on the provision and funding of teaching training for post primary Irish medium education and
- The funding of a post of Principal up to a year in advance of the opening of a post primary Irish medium school.
“Yet three months to the day after announcing those plans O’Dowd is claiming that he has to slash 1,500 jobs because of budget constraints!
“Yet again we have evidence that Sinn Fein and the Stormont system are doing nothing to promote the good of children in Northern Ireland. Rather, we have a Minister and a department fixated with furthering a political agenda.”