The interview with Minister for Education Mary Hanafin in today's editions will strike a familiar chord with many parents. The Minister steps outside the strict confines of her brief and comments on the social mores of the new, more prosperous Ireland where parenting has become more challenging. In an observation which will find an echo in many homes, the Minister talks about parents who have little time to spend with their children because of work and others commitments.
Some, she observes, would give their children money "quicker than they would give them time and that is the problem." She talks about a new kind of Irish family where children occupy their own world with computers and TVs and where family interaction is minimal. The Minister also dwells on the often intolerable peer pressure on young people to wear designer labels and the virtual drinking epidemic among young teenage girls.
How refreshing it is to hear a Government minister commenting at some length on the changing face of Irish society. In a strange way, many parents will be comforted by her comments; the challenges they face in rearing their own children are by no means unique. Ms Hanafin's comments also serve as a reminder that it is unfair to expect schools to solve all our social ills. Yes, school can help in fostering a greater sense of independence, responsibility and civic-mindedness but there are also very strong peer and, indeed, marketing pressures bearing down on our young people. Ms Hanafin has opened a very sensitive debate.
The Minister made her comments on the eve of this week's teacher conferences. Teacher morale is high after a bruising period, marked by all kinds of internecine feuds. The three teaching unions are co-operating to a degree unrecognisable from some years ago when the ASTI dispute undermined the traditional solidarity. There is even loose talk about a merger between the three unions in the medium term, creating one super union with 50,000 members. The return of the ASTI to Ictu has helped to build this renewed sense of solidarity. Moves towards greater unity make good sense; today there is much more that unites the three teaching unions than divides them.
Indeed, the three teacher conferences will be addressing many of the same challenges this week. They include the apparent breakdown in discipline in some schools, overcrowded classrooms and the lack of adequate Government support for primary, second-level and further education.
Ms Hanafin provides a robust defence of her stewardship in today's interview. But delegates will be seeking more reassurance, especially on the issue of declining school discipline - another symptom of a changing Ireland. The Minister has done much to restore the morale and the strong esprit de corps of the teaching profession. This week, she will need to convince teachers that law and order has not broken down in some of our schools.