Talks are taking place between the Departments of Education and Finance, in an effort to pre-empt an “inoperable” situation in schools in September.

Two teacher unions have directed members to refuse from March 8 to carry out duties of vacated middle-management posts that have not been filled.

Approval has been given for new Catholic schools in Drogheda and Galway under the patronage of Cardinal Sean Brady and Bishop Martin Drennan.

John White, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), is to retire in Sept 2010 after six years as head of the union.

The presidents and general secretaries of the the four education unions - ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI - issued a joint statement on January 25:

While union leaders still insist that all options for industrial action are on the table, there seems to be no real appetite for all-out strikes.

In a statement issued today, INTO president Maire Ni Chuinneagain said schools should not allow children to be exploited by commercial companies.

The assessment process for new buildings would seem to be designed to keep schools on a waiting list for as long as possible, says INTO.

Addressing a public sector protest on December 12, Sheila Nunan told hundreds gathered outside Leinster House that social partnership was dead.

The student maintenance grant has been reduced by 5 percent, while those on Back to Education Allowance will no longer qualify for maintenance grant.

A new survey has revealed that the cost of processing college grants varies from €70 per applicant in Westmeath to €484 per applicant in N Tipperary.

Teacher unions are incensed at the €603m cut in spending on education next year, as part of the Government’s plan to stabilise the exchequer.

An accommodation on 12 days of unpaid leave across the public sector has been reached by Government and unions, Peter McLoone announced.

Teachers and lecturers across the country have voted in favour of strike action in protest at Government plans to cut €1.3 billion from their earnings.

A new education campaign, launched on Nov 3, brings together parents and teachers and calls for a target investment in education of 7 per cent of GDP.

60,000 educators who are members of the ASTI, INTO and TUI will be balloted on industrial action this week in response to threats to their pay.

The annual one-day conference of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) was held on April 25 in the Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin 4.

Delegates at the INTO conference were angry both on their own behalf and on behalf of their pupils, and they gave full vent to their outrage.

The ASTI was the only teacher union this Easter that opened its conference with no threat of industrial action on the table.

The incoming INTO president for 2009-10 is Máire Ní Chuinneagáin, a native of Corofin, Co Galway, and principal of Scoil Fhursa Modhscoil in Galway.