Vol. 471 No. 4
194 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Education whether she is in receipt of correspondence dated 29 August 1996 from Deputy Bree relating to the case of a person (details supplied) in County Sligo; if so, when she intends to respond to the correspondence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21031/96]
I am in receipt of the correspondence mentioned by the Deputy requesting a meeting about the case in question.
As indicated to the Deputy in a previous reply to him on 23 May 1996, the future of teacher education in the two Colleges of Education for Home Economics has been under review for some years now having regard to the need for home economics teachers. Any staff appointments which are deemed essential are made strictly on a temporary basis. The person adverted to by the Deputy has been appointed in a temporary capacity on the above basis.
The steering committee on the future development of higher education issued its report in June 1995 but it had not completed its examination of specialist teacher requirements, including home economics teachers. It recommended, though, that the necessary review and analysis should be pursued further jointly between the Department and the Higher Education Authority. This analysis and review is in the proces of going ahead and future plans for the home economics teacher training course will be formulated in the context of the outcome.
