A Supreme Court judge has queried why somebody didn’t shout stop and urge mediation before lengthy litigation was embarked on by a teacher over being required to undergo psychiatric assessment to see if she was fit to resume work.

Senator Alex White, Labour Leader in the Senate, has expressed dismay at the fact that primary schools in Dublin South will lose up to 14 teachers under the new pupil-teacher ratios set by the Government as a result of the Budget changes.