INTO president outlines highlights of the role

The Cork president of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) says he has been fortunate to be president at a time when things are “pretty much back to normal” and in-person events have returned.

“It’s great meeting people face to face and strengthening our union and it’s great to see new energy and new people getting involved,” John Driscoll, who is also Deputy Principal of Star of the Sea Primary School in Passage West said.

The INTO Presidential Dinner took place on Saturday evening at Fota Island Resort Hotel.

“Every year the district where the president comes from hosts a presidential dinner so it’s district 12 which would be the southside of Cork city out to the Beara Peninsula," Mr Driscoll said. “The district is hosting the dinner and you have a lot of family and friends and also INTO representatives from right around the country.

“So, while it’s held in honour of the president, it really is a major event on the INTO calendar for people around the country to meet and socialise." 

Touching on the highlights of his role since becoming president earlier this year, Mr Driscoll said: “In June, I visited quite a number of schools for the Pride Flag initiative and it was great to visit a variety of schools, whether they were small rural schools or urban schools or DEIS schools, it was just great to meet so many different pupils and teachers around the country. In that, I was flagging inclusivity and acceptance.

“I also attended a couple of conferences including the European Trade Union Conference on Education (ETUCE) in July and that was very interesting to meet with teachers from around Europe and to realise that the issues are quite common in terms of attracting and keeping people in teaching and the effects of the war that has unfolded on people in Ukraine and on children who are wondering was the war going to come here.” 

He said a very enjoyable part of the role has been attending retirement functions organised by local branches where recently retired members are recognised for their contribution to education and society.

Most recently, Mr Driscoll visited Creeslough with Secretary General of the INTO John Boyle following the tragedy which took the lives of 10 people. 

He said that while the visit was “sad of course”, the teachers appreciated the support and were doing great work in supporting pupils.

Mr Driscoll also said that being directly involved in discussions with the Department and helping to make the voice of teachers heard is an important part of the role.

He welcomed the news of another 1,450 management posts and the reduction of class sizes and said it is “great” to see such progress made on these issues.