Prime Time - 12th January 2012

On tonight's programme:

Much of the criticism of Budget 2012 has focused on what was perceived as a lack of balance in where the cuts were going to fall; it was claimed that society’s most vulnerable were being targeted and that those who could least afford to pay would be the very ones doing so. It didn’t take long for the Fine Gael/Labour coalition’s resolve to wobble somewhat. The cuts in disability allowances were withdrawn from the Budget almost immediately, but it was not the only area in which the axe was scheduled to fall – cuts to education budgets were never likely to be welcomed but it now seems that this another element of Budget 2012 that the Government is willing to reconsider. Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has announced that he will ask his department to undertake a review of the cuts made to additional teaching posts previously allocated to disadvantaged schools. Tonight, Edel McAllister visits one of the schools in the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) scheme, to see just how much these additional posts are needed and examines whether schooling in disadvantaged areas will provide the backdrop to yet another high-profile u-turn in Government policy.
Also tonight, Rita O’Reilly reports on civil service pay. Have those in the highest grades been cushioned from the blows while workers at the lower end struggle? Joining us in studio will be Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte and Eddie Molloy of Advanced Organisation.
In addition to all of this, Barry Cummins has an exclusive interview with Jackie Kenny, following the identification of the body of her son James McDonagh, discovered by hill-walkers in the Wicklow mountains on Sunday.