Cavan woman named ASTI president-elect
A Cavan woman and 35-year teaching veteran has been named president-elect of one of the largest teacher representative bodies in the country, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).
Breda Lynch, who has taught at Dublin's Muckross Park College for most of her career, will take up the position as head of the organisation in August, when current president Ger Curtin steps aside.
Prior to the announcement of her elevation, Ms Lynch served as Vice-President of the ASTI.
Dublin-born, Ms Lynch moved to Cavan with her family aged 11, studying at Ballinagh National School and later Loreto College in Cavan Town.
She studied for a Degree in Maths and Theology, and H.Dip in Education at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth and her first teaching post was at Loreto Churchtown, at which time she became a member of the ASTI.
A delegate to ASTI Annual Convention every year since 1995, Ms Lynch has served on the organisation's Central Education Council since 2007, and has been one of the ASTI representatives on the Dublin Council of Trade Unions for the last six years.
Membership
Her election comes at a tricky time for the country’s biggest secondary teachers’ union for which membership has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years.
According to an internal report drawn up for the union’s executive or standing committee, membership has fallen “significantly”, occurring amid a dispute between the ASTI and the Government which inadvertently triggered pay losses for thousands of members.
Among the priorities set out by Ms Lynch, prior to being announced as President-Elect, was that the ASTI must continue to campaign on behalf of lesser paid teachers, until the common basic scale is restored.
Unreasonable
“We must defend against attacks on our pensions,” she said. “We must promote teacher welfare, by addressing issues leading to increased workload for our members, tackling the issue of indiscipline in our schools, and demanding the reversal of the many cuts that have affected our members and their pupils.” Ms Lynch further added: “We must be a strong voice in the trade union movement, campaigning for better pay and conditions, and defending members against unreasonable productivity demands.”