FIANNA FÁIL and the Green Party both insisted yesterday that they are in Government for the long haul and would not be pressured into a split by the Opposition over education cuts.
"Nothing can be allowed to deflect the Government from meeting its responsibility to implement the necessary actions to secure and defend the economy in these unprecedented times," said a Government spokesman.
The campaign against the Budget cuts by teacher organisations stepped up yesterday when the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) released data, compiled by principals and teachers, which says more than 1,000 teaching posts in primary schools will be lost next year.
The trade union's data, based on the number of pupils enrolled on September 30th, 2008, and applying the cuts as outlined in the Budget, shows cuts in primary schools right across the State.
The Budget changes include the increase in class sizes from 27 to 28 which cuts teacher numbers; the loss of teaching posts from schools which are no longer designated as disadvantaged; and a new ceiling of a maximum of two language support teachers for most schools.
A spokesman for Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe insisted last night that only 200 posts will be lost in the State's 3,300 national schools.
Teacher unions and parent organisations are marching to Leinster House on Wednesday at 6.30pm to coincide with a debate on a Labour Party motion in the Dáil calling for a reversal of the education cuts.
Green Party TD Paul Gogarty told The Irish Times yesterday he would be voting against the Labour motion. He said it had always been his intention to vote with the Government.
Last week Mr Gogarty read into the record in the Dáil an open letter to the Minister for Education calling for a reallocation of resources within his department's budget in order to avoid increasing the pupil/teacher ratio.
Mr Gogarty said yesterday that he had subsequently sent an e-mail to the Minister suggesting that at least €100 million could be found by taking money from the programme for research in third level institutions, particularly its capital allocation.
He said a Green Party meeting at Leinster House today was designed to ensure that there were good communications in the party. "This is not a crisis meeting. There are issues to be discussed but we are standing united and defiant," he said.
Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said yesterday that the Christmas welfare bonus of a double week's payment will be made to 1.3 million social welfare recipients this year.
She said that despite the financial crisis the Government was anxious to support the most vulnerable people in society, particularly those who were dependent on social welfare.
"It is €200 million extra and it means that people who are on pensions, widows, lone parents, long term unemployed will all get that payment around the first week of December to help them plan for Christmas."
She said the bonus had been paid over the past eight years and people had come to expect it.