An insider's guide to education: Those new limits on the Freedom of Information Act have really begun to bite in the education sphere. One education establishment presented a bill of over €2,000 to this reporter recently for making some polite inquiries about policy matters.

To make matters worse, one figure confided that he likes to refuse all applications for information "just to be on the safe side". So much for openness, transparency and accountability.

The education system accounts for over €6.5 billion of public money every year. Have we no right to probe into some of its inner workings?

Has Noel Dempsey still got the private fee-paying schools in his sights?

Over the summer, he rejected reports that he was about to pull the plug on the €70 million of taxpayers' money used to support these schools every year. But there is a suspicion that he would like to take some action. Dempsey is said to be dismayed by the huge amount of public money being invested in these schools, where parents are happy to pay over €3,000 a year a and often much more.

There is a strong argument that these schools are well-placed to pay their own teachers' salaries. This would leave more in the kitty for marginalised grapeshot really need it. The money could be used to provide incentives of, say up to €5,000 per year, for teachers willing to work in troubled areas.

All of this makes perfect sense to Noel Dempsey. But after the fees debacle, he seems shy of an all-out war with the formidable middle classes. (There is also the question of State support for minority-religion schools, which would have to be safeguarded.)

Dempsey's instinct is still to do something to make the world a better place. There has been some loose talk that he will ask the posh schools to take their share of disadvantaged pupils to help even things up. The word is that the Minister might just ask the schools to do the decent thing and come up with some kind of quota system. But is he prepared to come with the big stick if they demur?

The undeclared war between the Government and the universities goes on.

Last week, the Taoiseach said the Government was doing all it could to support the sector, despite what it says in Irish Times editorials.

But the pressure from the universities is unlikely to recede. Expect a flurry of news stories about the closure of this or that service in the coming weeks.

That was a generous and warm tribute paid by ASTI head office staff to Charlie Lennon last week. ICTU boss, David Begg, also spoke warmly of Lennon' s outstanding contribution to education and to the entire trade union movement.

Got any education gossip? Email us at teacherspet@irish-times.ie