Jul 2, 2014

Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn Resigns from Office

Minister Quinn to resign from government after the next reshuffle.

blank

Samuel Riggs | Editor

In a press statement this morning, Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn has announced he does not intend to run for re-election for government in next week’s proposed cabinet reshuffle by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Furthermore, Quinn has stated that he intends to retire from politics entirely after the coming general election.

Outside Leinster House, Quinn stated that his resignation was coming “a little sooner than I might have liked”, and that it was in order to make room for the incoming Labour party leader to make clearer decisions around appointing cabinet personnel.

ADVERTISEMENT

Quinn is most well known for having pledged at the last general elections not to raise student fees, and also for proposing reforms to the Junior Certificate, and for having served as the first Labour Minister for Finance between the 1994 and 1997.

USI President Laura Harmon stated that Quinn would leave a “mixed legacy”, but that he is recognised as having served during a “time of serious upheaval in government.” She further stated that Quinn was “one of the few ministers to come to USI Congress and to debate higher education with students – he engaged with USI, and we had a frank relationship with him. We hope his successor will retain a good relationship with USU, and we look forward to the development of a higher education system that is recognised as a public good, with the student voice at the centre of decision making.”

 

Sign Up to Our Weekly Newsletters

Get The University Times into your inbox twice a week.