New ASTI president says funding will be top priority

The new president of the Association of Secondary Teachers has said securing additional government funding for secondary schools will be one of his main priorities in the coming year.

Ireland has recently been ranked 21 out of 27 OECD countries in terms of investment in second-level schools.

Newly-elected ASTI president Michael Freeley said today that he would be pushing for the Government to spend more of Ireland's growing wealth on rectifying this situation.

He also said teachers need to be valued more by society and he would be pushing the Government to make improvements in their working conditions and pay in the next 12 months.