Angry Youth Reach teachers condemned the Minister for Education for his failure to respond to their claims for permanent positions and a proper pay structure. Chris Bean Ui Chasaide said the response to the Youth Reach programme for early school-leavers was limited to improving the centres and increasing the allocated places by 1,000 nationwide.
"If this is the limit of the Department's recognition of our members' valuable contribution, it is patronising to say the least," she said. Youth Reach staff were being denied a career structure and worked in an atmosphere of insecurity and uncertainty.