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'It's not a value judgement on any profession' - Education Minister defends change to vaccine prioritisation

The conferences of the country’s three teacher trade unions are taking place today.

LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr 2021

EDUCATION MINISTER NORMA Foley has said the decision to shift to an age-based vaccine roll-out is not “a value judgement” on any profession, as teachers’ unions continue to call for their members to be prioritised.

The three teachers’ unions have agreed a joint motion on vaccine prioritisation to debate at their annual conferences this week.

The government has said the change to an age-based model will mean vaccines can be delivered faster over the next few months. However, the change essentially removes a ‘key workers’ cohort that had planned to vaccinate some people based on their occupation.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) congresses have been taking place today. Minister Foley, addressing the INTO conference this afternoon, defended the government’s decision on the vaccine roll-out.

The minister said she can understand the sense of disappointment felt by many in the education sector and other sectors. However she said health officials had presented the government with medical evidence underpinning the recent change.

“Fundamentally this recommendation has been driven by the fact that national and international evidence now confirm that age is the strongest predictor of whether a person who contracts Covid-19 will be admitted to hospital or ICU or die as a result of their infection.

To put this in context., Professor Karina Butler of NIAC (National Immunisation Advisory Committee) has confirmed that if we were to compare a person aged between 30 and 35 with a person aged between 60 and 65, the person aged between 60 and 65 years old, is 70 times more likely to die as a result of Covid-19 than a younger person.

Foley said the decision is “not a value judgement on any given profession, it is simply science”.

Earlier, the three unions said they had agreed a joint motion on the issue. In a statement, they said:

“The three teacher unions have agreed to table a joint motion to their respective congresses over the course of the next two days.

“The motion will seek to commit the unions to work together to demand vaccine prioritisation for teachers. Should that fail, the motion will mandate the unions to explore any and all options, up to and including industrial action.”

 INTO general secretary John Boyle, in his own address to the conference and the minister, said the government decision on vaccine sequencing had left teachers “crestfallen and very cross”. 

“This decision shows blatant disregard for our members’ safety. Teachers must be re-instated as a high-priority group to be vaccinated early to ensure that schools can remain open safely,” he said.

Reports last week seemed to suggest that your government is not concerned about teachers who may contract this deadly virus or those who suffer the excruciating and debilitating impacts of long Covid. But rather, concern appears only to be with decreasing hospitalisations and taking the easy rather than the fair approach to vaccination.
 It’s simply not good enough Minister.

Boyle said when teachers returned to schools in February and March the government “promised in writing that they would be in the first one third of the population vaccinated”.

“Your government broke that promise,” he told he minister. 

“The new group nine on the revised list gives priority to those who work in crowded settings. Surely spending nearly six hours a day in a small room with children from 25 or more families is a crowded setting?”

‘Flexibility and dedication’

Earlier TUI President Martin Marjoram said members will consider an emergency motion for industrial action on the vaccine roll tomorrow morning.

Marjoram told Newstalk’s Breakfast Briefing that teachers are not looking to get ahead of anyone else on the vaccination priority list, saying “we took the plan as it originally was”.

“We genuinely think that there’s every possibility of running the age-based system in parallel with something that is specifically directed towards particular professions”, he said.

Addressing the TUI congress this afternoon, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris thanked members for their “flexibility, dedication and agility” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Thank you for literally putting emergency measures in place over a matter of days to keep the show on the road,” he said.

“Thank you for adapting and learning new ways of working to make sure learners didn’t lose out. Thank you for working with my department and I to highlight things we needed to put in place like a free laptop scheme or extra funding for mental health services.

“And most importantly of all, thank you for putting the learner – the student – at the fore of all our engagement and I mean this sincerely.”

‘A kick in the teeth’

ASTI vice president Ann Piggott this afternoon said the change to the vaccine prioritisation list was “a brutal and sudden kick to the teeth” for teachers and other public sector workers. 

“Total disregard has been shown for the frontline workers in this country who come
face to face with hundreds of people in the course of essential work where exposure to
illness is unavoidable,” she said.

She pointed to a number of countries such as France, Italy, Canada, Turkey and Vietnam that had vaccinated or are about to vaccinate their teachers.

“They value education and the health of the more exposed workers in society,” she said. “They have protected essential staff. This will ensure schools stay open, that staff will not have to self-isolate or be confronted by illness.”

The recommendation from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) is based on evidence that age is the biggest factor that determines your risk of severe illness from Covid-19.

An age-based model rather than one based on profession could also contribute to a quicker rollout. Once everyone aged over 70, those with underlying health conditions and vulnerable groups are vaccinated, people will begin to receive vaccines on the basis of age.

However, unions representing frontline workers and teachers say their members should get priority access due to the high risk of both catching the virus and passing it on to others due to the nature of their work.

Struggling students 

Also on the agenda for today’s congresses are classroom sizes, curricular reform, as well as the terms and conditions of teachers’ employment.

A recent survey of TUI members found that teachers believe additional supports will be needed next year to assist students who may have struggled with the move to emergency remote teaching.  

“Of great concern to teachers is that 93% noticed disengagement by some of their students as a result of the move to emergency remote teaching and learning,” said TUI President Martin Marjoram.

76% believe that emergency remote learning had a disproportionately negative effect on students from disadvantaged backgrounds, while 86% believe that additional supports are needed for 2021/22 to assist those students who may have lost out most as a result of the move to emergency remote teaching and learning. 

The survey also notes that 73% of members believe that some students were unable to engage with emergency remote teaching and learning as a result of not having access to appropriate electronic devices.

- With reporting by Michelle Hennessy.

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    Mute Timberdog
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:06 PM

    Two completely different issues. Aggressive begging is intimidating, and mostly organised, run by a cartel of Roma. Huge difference to homelessness. Anybody who can’t tell the difference is ignorant of the facts. I work in the hospitality industry in the city centre, and our hearts are broken keeping professional beggars from annoying and intimidating our customers. These, believe me, are professional beggars. They are dropped off en-masse and then spread out. In my area they arrive at 6.15pm every Thursday, Friday & Saturday. They co-ordinate their efforts to a T. They usually finish at 11.30pm and then all walk back to their car together. They also have a guy who walks up and down the street collect their money and bring it back to the ‘minder’ who sits in a car on Baggot Street. Monday to Friday another group works from 8am to 5pm, they again are all dropped off, and they take their positions at the parking metres and bank machines along the street. I have been physically threatened by these people when I tried to stop them harassing our customers. I had to call the guards another night to get walked to my own car, as the “money collecting guy” threatened to slit my throat for running them from outside the restaurant. Nasty nasty people. These are not homeless. Please be aware of the difference.

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    Mute George Orwell
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:22 PM

    That’s racist. It is part their culture. You must tolerate. Resistance is futile.

    72
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    Mute Lastpost
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:55 PM

    Part of your culture to beg ? I would call it just to bloody lazy to work they came over here for two reasons one for the dole and another to peg we should chuck them out if that’s racists fine I can live with that tag

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    Mute TR909
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:02 PM

    Spot on Timberdog. It’s organised Roma criminal begging gangs. Have seen how they set up on Baggott St and surrounding area. Can’t have a smoke in peace outside a bar in town without a gypsy coming up with their hands out. Parasites.

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    Mute Lastpost
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:18 PM

    Just an interesting point here, gypsies from Central Europe, are for some reason terrified of rabbits ! So a rabbits foot dangling in front of there face will quickly get rid of them pestering you

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    Mute Lastpost
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 12:49 PM

    Think you missed the point Marco, I’d say fair play to the restaurant owners, and aggressive begging has become a business for some needs to stop

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    Mute TR909
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:59 PM

    I just ask them for money before they ask me. Just tell them I need money for beer. Keep on and on at them. Bit of their own medicine is good enough for them.

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    Mute Anne Gyna
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 3:08 PM

    There should be big, un-missable neon signs warning people NOT to give to beggars. It’s an industry, run by Roma criminal predators. Plenty of charities out there to donate legit to, no need to pay the already State mollycoddled, PAYE funded, scroungers any more free, un-earned loot!!

    56
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    Mute Marko Burns
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 12:36 PM

    Why not save all their time and money on stupid surveys and put it into a soup kitchen instead- I’m sure there is plenty of food waste among them all that could be put to practical use.

    52
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    Mute I LOVE MY COUNTY
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 12:38 PM

    Do you own or run a restaurant Marko?

    87
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    Mute Marko Burns
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 12:46 PM

    Not a regular restaurant runner these days. I find the spandex chaffs something awful.

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    Mute I LOVE MY COUNTY
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:01 PM

    Picture a tumbleweed Marko… seems I can’t send you a picture of one.

    58
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    Mute Twink's Teddy
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:38 PM

    Don’t you all know, the homeless are the new gays, anything negative said about them will be met with a barrage of red thumbs.

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    Mute Scarr
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:20 PM

    I don’t know. I think it’s very possible to criticise the gays. Can’t think of anything right now but if I do think of one, I’ll be right back here. *~*

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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:15 PM

    So now homeless people are meant to be polite and social at all times. As an experiment try sleeping rough for a week and deal with the HSE and see if your full of the joys of spring.

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    Mute Scarr
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:18 PM

    Some people just want to be outraged.

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    Mute Ah Here
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 3:58 PM

    Why all the comments on Roma beggars? I work in the city centre and most of the aggressive begging I see is from Irish people.

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    Mute Niall Keaveney
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 7:49 PM

    I also work in the city. All the aggressive begging is from the Irish. The Roma just sit quietly

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    Mute Nicky O'Donnell
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:09 PM

    Homelessness and begging are two separate issues on planet moron and planet liars.

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    Mute Leviathan
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 1:31 PM

    Stupid crusty.

    Read the article properly before jumping on the SJW bandwagon.

    The vast majority of homeless people in Ireland are Irish. Aggressive beggars on the other hand…..its their culture, they get state provided housing and such. Homeless people would be lucky to even get a sniff of that kind of government help.

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    Mute Scarr
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:18 PM

    Nicky, Nicky, nicky. The article, and the details provided today, explicitly make the difference between aggressive begging (what this action is about) and ‘regular’ begging (what this article is not about).
    No harm done.

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    Mute Stephen Grainger
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 2:38 PM

    The original press release mentions “the interrelated areas of begging, homelessness and addiction”. It is obvious why people are making the connection between the topics and the press release is insensitive and poorly timed.

    “Dublin accounts for 47% of national GDP and attracts almost four million visitors a year, that amount of visitors is at risk if this issue continues to be ignored.”

    There are surely bigger issues that should be dealt with first “as a matter of urgency”, to use the words of the press release. Like people dying on the streets.

    “Let them eat cake”

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    Mute Scarr
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    Dec 3rd 2014, 3:01 PM

    There’s a fair bit to be irked by in this report. One thing is the fact that it’s only when something affects tourism that the powers that be seem to pay attention. It seems if you’re a taxpayer you’re supposed to put up with it.
    There may be merit in constructing a temporary block of container houses (prob in the Phoenix park) to get homeless people off the streets during the harsher weather. There’s obviously a cost, as well as insurance and staffing costs to that too.
    Long term, addiction clinics need to be decentralized. How addiction is treated needs to be re-thought. Some people are on methadone for 10+ years. What sort of a system is that.
    Controversially, IMO, a large % of social housing in Dublin cc should be sold and used to buy more social homes further out of the city for those who cannot / will not work.

    19
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