Budget cuts 'will remove 1,000 teaching posts'

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) is today accusing the Government of dramatically underestimating the impact of Budget cuts in education.

The union says more than 1,000 second-level teaching posts will be lost following decisions announced in last week's Budget, not the 200 that the Education Minister has claimed.

The TUI is vowing to vigorously fight the cutbacks, describing them as "shameful".

The Government has also come in for major criticism over cutbacks in primary education, which will lead to an increase in class sizes.

The INTO union says the cuts are a savage attack on primary-school pupils, who will now find themselves in the most over-crowded classrooms on the entire continent of Europe.