The Education Minister has rejected claims that the controversy over the appointment of a so-called housing tsar shows the government’s housing policy is in disarray.
Housing Minister James Browne of Fianna Fáil had put forward Kilcummin man Brendan McDonagh as his preferred candidate to head up the office tasked with speeding up the delivery of housing.
It’s been reported that Fine Gael blocked the appointment of McDonagh, who is also the head of the National Asset Management Agency or NAMA.
Subsequently, Mr McDonagh withdrew his name from the race to become Chief Executive of the newly-established office, as he did not want to be at the centre of a controversy.
Minister for Education Helen McEntee says the two main parties in the coalition are still united.
Helen McEntee is in Killarney today to address principals and deputy principals of secondary schools at the Joint Managerial Body conference.
A university lecturer and author of Leaving Cert textbooks on construction studies, Trevor Hickey, resigned from a group tasked with redeveloping the subject, claiming the new syllabus is being dumbed down.
Minister McEntee says changes to the Leaving Cert are about testing a range of skills for students.
