Education Minister Richard Bruton has declined to say what penalties, if any, teachers will face should they strike over the lower-pay structure for post-2011 recruits.

The restoration of pay for all teachers, and not just those who qualified in recent years, is high on the agenda for three unions, meeting this week.

Career pay differentials of up to €300,000 between older and younger teachers look set to be another headache for the next government.

Asylum-seeker students may soon get a chance at a third-level education that financial barriers have previously blocked most from receiving, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan has said.

The rush to secure university status could do more damage than good to some institutes of technology, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland congress heard.