Class sizes need to be capped at no more than 20 students to ensure teachers and children are not “crowded out” of education.

Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) president Joe Killeen has said his union will stand with its new members on securing pay equality, whether through “negotiation, court challenge or industrial action”.

A war that will bring down the Government was promised by the leader of the country’s 35,000 primary teachers if they are unhappy with the outcome of imminent talks about lower-paid teachers.

Up to 30 young people treated every week at University Hospital Limerick have attempted suicide, according to a hospital source.

Safety organisations have warned the public to be extremely careful of water after the sixth drowning in a week.