Bruton defends efforts to prevent school closures

Education Minister Richard Bruton has defended his efforts to prevent industrial action shutting hundreds of schools indefinitely, in response to criticism in the Dáil.

As a third consecutive day of talks between Department of Education officials and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) was concluding, Fianna Fáil education spokesman, Thomas Byrne, said it is not good enough that the minister says deciding whether or not to open next week is down to local schools.

Such a decision is likely at around 500 of the country’s 730 second-level schools, where ASTI’s 17,500 members will refuse to do supervision and substitution duties.