CORK-based Healy Brothers has been acquired by the Lagan Group as it aims to increase its presence in the south.

STRIKE action was yesterday unanimously endorsed by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland in opposition to the education cutbacks, which include the loss of teaching posts and the abolition of the book grant scheme.

Talks on an economic recovery plan could get back under way by the weekend after union chiefs today called off their potentially crippling strike.

CITIZENS are rightly concerned that the electoral register for Dáil elections is accurate and fully inclusive. But Government is also responsible for ensuring that elections to the Seanad are fully democratic.

A QUARRY company will close with the loss of almost 300 jobs if it cannot develop a site in east Cork.

SCHOOLS are powerless to implement plans for special needs students because they don’t have the necessary staff, teachers unions warned last night.

The Teachers Union of Ireland has advised its members to reject the social partnership deal agreed earlier this week.

CHANGES should be made to the Leaving Certificate to allow more students, who are not interested in the points race, to reach their potential, teachers and business leaders said last night.

THE gap in Ireland’s two-tier education system is increasing, the president of the 14,000-member Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), Paddy Healy, claimed yesterday.

ELITIST secondary schools were yesterday accused by a teachers union leader of not accepting their fair share of students with special education needs and learning difficulties.

STAFF working with early school-leavers are being paid up to €15,000 less than second-level teachers - despite doing the same work, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) claimed yesterday.

EFFORTS to improve and modernise the country’s 4,000 schools will benefit from a €0.5 billion building package unveiled by Education Minister Mary Hanafin yesterday.

Heavy rain kept most protestors away from the front gates of the Dáil for today's Budget speech, but dozens of teachers gathered to protest against the lack of funding for further education and school indiscipline.

IT would be hard to exaggerate the importance of further education as a major source of lifelong learning and a key tool in providing skilled and trained workers for Ireland’s expanding workforce.

TEACHERS in the further education sector may consider going on strike if the Government does not deliver long-sought funding in next week’s budget, a union leader warned last night.

AN EXTRA 400 primary teaching posts will be created over the next two years to help reduce class sizes, Education Minister Mary Hanafin promised yesterday.

POOR school funding and Government inaction have been blamed for half of students dropping out of some schools before completing their Leaving Certificate.

THE institutes of technology stand to gain rather than lose out when they come under the same funding mechanism as universities, the head of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Tom Boland, said yesterday.

Teachers are backing calls from secondary school students to be treated as young adults.

The Minister of Education Mary Hanafin will be meeting union representatives next month to discuss the issue of publishing more information on schools.

Niall Murray Education Correspondent

THE points needed for many college places could be down slightly on last year as this year’s Leaving Certificate figures show a drop in the number of students scoring top grades.

THE countdown has ended for almost 59,000 students who begin the Leaving Certificate this morning.

IT was a day of solidarity. A day when pupils across the country stood as one, united by grief.

ONLY one Irish teacher - out of the country’s 50,000 - was sacked in the past four years for unsatisfactory teaching, according to recent figures.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland has condemned the recent deportations of non-national students, especially their forced removal from schools.

THE Teachers' Union of Ireland has criticised the "woefully inadequate" support system for teachers trying to tackle the growing problem of disruptive students in class.

THE creation of 100 extra teaching posts for post-Leaving Cert courses has been given a guarded welcome by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland has called on Education Minister Mary Hanafin to immediately implement major recommendations contained in a 2003 report on reform of the further and adult education sector.

A DECLINE in the relative value of teachers’ pay and conditions compared with other professions could lead to problems recruiting new teaching staff in future, the TUI has warned.

Secondary school teachers have called for the introduction of new procedures to help improve discipline in classrooms.

The Teachers Union of Ireland's conference in Dublin today heard that unchecked bad behaviour of students is taking its toll on both teachers' wellbeing and the quality of education in classrooms.

An umbrella group of education unions is mounting a major pre-Budget protest tomorrow to call for more public funding.

A UNION leader has accused the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) of insulting teachers and non-university education sectors by seeking to exclude him from its council.

ALMOST half of the extra €544 million in current spending on the education sector will go towards pay increases for teachers.

A CANDIDATE in the Teaching Council election has accused her own union of trying to bully her into stepping down in favour of a rival member.

THE leaders of the country’s three school teacher unions have called on Education Minister Mary Hanafin to reduce the size of classes at primary and second level.

Secondary school teachers have demanded a ban on picture message mobile phones in schools.

INCREASED funding and more overseas students are needed to help Ireland attain a world class reputation for research in its third level institutions, the OECD has suggested.

TEACHERS have warned they will not be prevented from striking over unsafe schools despite being told such action would breach the national pay deal.

IRISH should not be compulsory at Leaving Certificate level because thousands of students who do badly in it take an extra subject to make up points for college, a parents group said last night.

THE cap on places on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses must be removed to give disadvantaged students a chance to continue their education.