Kenny announces Education Reform plans
On the 24th Nov 2006, Enda Kenny announced plans for a radical overhaul of the Education System including:

• Set up a Schools' Excellence Fund, starting with €100m, which will support the recruitment of new teachers and the introduction of innovative and creative initiatives at local level to deliver real results
  
• Give a laptop to every child entering secondary school and radically redesign course material around new technology
• Introduce standardised literacy and numeracy tests for all children
• Audit teachers in skills and methodologies every five years and open up teaching by fast-tracking entry by mature experts and professionals in other critical areas
• Instigate premium payments for teachers in the most challenging schools
• Ring-fence additional money for the school-building programme, targeting especially Science, ICT and sports facilities
• Given the extra demands being imposed on our Secondary schools we should work towards lengthening either the school day or the school year

  Read Fine Gael Press Release 'Good Enough' is Not Enough for Irish Education on finegael.com

  View Video of RTE Six One News Report on rte.com