Statement

£271K ON EDUCATION COMMISSARS

Posted on: October 19, 2009

DUP Assembly Member Peter Weir, a member of the suspended South Eastern Education and Library Board has revealed that the Department of Education has paid some £271,239 to four commissioners who were imposed when the board was suspended in 2006. The four commissioners are paid £500 per day.

Speaking today the DUP MLA said:  

“Members of the SEELB were suspended back in 2006 for refusing to impose departmental cutbacks in special needs services and classroom assistant provision. In our place the department imposed four education commissars to force through their cuts agenda.

It would appear that not only have these commissioners pushed the government’s plans through, but they have been paid very handsomely for it. Forcing cuts and fiscal restraint when it comes to classroom assistants and helping kids with special needs is clearly on the departmental agenda, but skimping in payments those responsible for imposing the same is clearly unthinkable to the Department for Education and its Minister, Caitriona Ruane.

How can the Department or the minister justify payments of this scale to four individuals? Caitriona Ruane said she wanted the SEELB to resume its duties as soon as possible, but that never happened. Clearly her dictatorial tendencies, which have been evident in her approach towards the transfer test issue, felt more at home with four unaccountable commissioners than with local community and political representatives.

Whilst the SEELB is due to be wound up in January, the negative legacy of these unaccountable education commissars will be felt for a long time to come in our area. They imposed stringent cuts on the education of local children in my constituency and it is frankly disgraceful that they should have been paid so well for doing so”, said the DUP MLA.