Why I am writing to Ruairí Quinn.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Monday June 20, 2011 10:58

by indignant person

Poor people are denied education through sneaky Labour cuts.

I want to seperate out what is becoming problematic in terms of Irish Coalition Partnerships for a minute
and focus on how those people who attain power actually begin to use it. For instance , the Irish Dáil is
a place where ideology (of whatever flavour) is not an issue when entering into what we fondly term a junior
coalition partnership/ relationship with a majority party (JCP). it doesn't matter a bit, no political party , whatever
their stripe goes into poor areas and asks for votes , because they (and especially the Labour party) do not
care to know about poverty. It is invisible to them, and mostly at the moment in terms of access to education.

Ruairí making the column inches by ignoring poverty issues.

I want to look at Ruairí Quinn who is distinguishing himself on the spin front with his plans for
divestment (50%), whilst all the time his department is heightening education inequality in terms
of *access*.

1. Special needs assistants are being cut , while he lengthens his media column inches talking about an
ideology which quite clearly is not widely consultative and is mostly occurring through letters, claims,
opinionators and celebrity right-wing hacks (David Quinn) : Soundbyte Fianna Fáil policies.

Labour are not known for seeking votes in areas where there is poverty and social-alienation.

2. Back to school allowances are subject to some type of planned lottery and if parents do not receive
notification of them , they must apply (all on one day) to get the cheque, they ensure that poor kids
have actual shoes, uniforms and books. There will of course be a computer-jam on the day and
many kids will do without again this year.

3. Lone Parents allowances will be cut under an IMF deal over the next 5 years, ensuring those
in need at second-level will continue to be in need and surely enough leave school even earlier
under the Labour party.

50% divestment in catholic schools will not :

1. Effect those who will fee-pay to retain their catholic status, thus it will effect areas where
the Labour party do not seek votes . We will have privileged atheists or privileged religious
continuing the status quo.

2. Access to education is unaffected by a divestment vanity project which is being funded by Quinn's department
but access is effected by poverty issues, food issues, welfare and support issues.

3. Quinn's radicalising of education access is quite simply a tired Green-party vote-getter for privileged
parents who are unconcerned with poverty issues, because they effect 'other people'.

I am willing to state that the sum effect of divestment in education will be to ensure that those who
wish religious or non-religious education will get their desires and have something to chatter about.
and blithely ignoring Ruairí Quinn's Labour Party continuance of Fianna Fáil's aggressive cuts to building
programmes, to back to schools allowances, to care assistants and ultimately to access and equality
in education.

I also reckon that the yearly OECD report on Irish education will be scathing for 2010-2011 but it will
be neatly hidden by stupid rows about religion that carefully sustain a wealthy bunch of people who
care little for poverty and will (with or without religion) create another generation of unthinking drivelling
politicos and alienated poor.

The issue has never been about the irregular relationships between majority and JCP in our
coalitions but about continuing and copper-fastening Fianna Fáil policies, and these are quite
simply that poor people do not have the right to education under any government and silent
cuts will continue whilst Quinn blows hot-air out of his arse declaiming on divestment as a
cover for his attacks on the very poor.

So Is Minister Quinn going to ask people if they need their back to school allowances and college
grants or is he going to keep on abusing office by descending into using soundbyte to cover his
obvious failures ?

save preference

Comments (4 of 4)

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by Eochaidh

Mon Jun 20, 2011 20:20

I agree with what you're saying, unfortunately due to the pacified nature of the Irish public, nothing will be done.

Our best chance for real change in Ireland, is for successful revolution to take place in Spain or Greece.

I do not believe that Irish people are pacified

by indignant

Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:59

I believe that they (we) have a problem with visibility.

The Labour party are caught up in the politics of denial in exchange for unreformed power that caters to
a narrow and dangerous minority. And unlike Spain , the protests in Ireland will be of alienation and violence,
because that is the result of 14 undiluted years of Fianna Fáil impoverishment of Irish society.

The problem here is that actual poor people have * no * political voice because no politician cares to do more
than sustain educational alienation. This is what Quinn is doing and he is using divestment as a blind to 'not'
talk about access to schools and colleges, he is not talking support , he is not talking about how reducing
back to school allowances will effect grocery bills. He is talking about religion and he is doing so in a manner
that convinces me that those who wish retain religion shall be unaffected by debate- he is creating poverty.

That is a cynical manouevre that highlights how politics are done in Ireland . The fact that many people
aspire to power in an unreformed and corrupted political system suggests that there will be little change
anytime soon.

Brendan Howlin has got the green goo.

by ndgnt

Wed Jun 22, 2011 18:31

The Labour Party have very comfortably slotted their arses into the chairs left by Gormley and co.

I had thought that the Fianna Fáil programme would be abandoned but apparently the spin, soundbyte
and other such crap has manifested itself in the Slimy Labs.

Unfortunately I need a word for the coalition, given that England has the 'Condems' and we have nowt
but a bunch of bureaucrats signing off on Civil service and EU decisions, sure even honeymoon OP
Polls and front-page poses are the same- just less well-cut suits!

The greatest benefit that the Irish version of realpolitix has is that the media do not question them closely
on budget/poverty/alienation issues : once you are in the revolving chair, you are 'The Government'. (which is
kinda how FF got away with crap for 14 unchallenged years, like)

Its so good to see Ruairí working closely with ex-PD Cannon

by ndgnnt

Wed Jun 29, 2011 13:36

"Minister of State for Training and Skills Ciaran Cannon has insisted proposed changes and cutbacks in the primary school transport system will be implemented from September.
The measures are aimed at saving €3.5m per year, but they are being bitterly opposed in rural communities across the country.
Many families with primary school students who had a free bus service up to now will be charged a minimum of €50 per child from September, rising to a maximum of €650 per family.
In addition, the Department of Education is cutting around 150 routes where fewer than ten pupils live more than 3km from the school."

Ruairí's impeccable standard of using Fianna Fáil spin to focus on the positive ( divestment/vanity projects)
means that he can slap a Junior PD with the bad news. the fact that the Labour Party (New Labour?) have
taken the Green Christian Right Junior Coalition Particle is becoming increasingly evident :

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0628/education.html

Dear Labour Party,

If you wish to have an iota of relevance in these few years of power, you really should stop
enacting and implementing Fianna Fáil policy and signing on to previously agreed policy
deals that come from the civil service of the previous government. There is still the problem
of Law Library loiterer Cllr Humphreys and the issue of Fine Gael's lack of leadership to contend
with post-elections. Many of us are tired of interchangeable generic suited males living within
cossetted political systems that have no relevance to the realities of our lives.

Sincerely,

a pissed-off voter.

:-)

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Why I am writing to Ruairí Quinn.

Comments (4 of 4)