Primary and secondary schools across Ireland are facing disruptions this week as teachers begin to strike as part of an ongoing pay dispute.
It is part of a broader wave of strikes involving over 100,000 public sector employees.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has confirmed that their members will not work beyond their scheduled hours.
Morning and evening schedules will be affected as teachers withdraw from Croke Park supervision duties. Because of this, pupils are not permitted on school grounds before or after standard school hours
The industrial action also means that members of INTO will not attend any staff meetings and parent-teacher meetings outside of the standard school hours.
Union general secretary John Boyle slammed the situation as an "absolute disgrace," saying previous government leaders would never have allowed it to happen.
Speaking on RTE's Radio 1, Boyle said: "What they advised boards of management to do is that if you cannot take on this additional risk when you don’t have these teachers out in the cold freely supervising the children for no pay any longer, that you as a board may have to only open the school gates at the actual start of the school day rather than half an hour beforehand."
99.5% of INTO members voted in favor of the action, which the union said aims to secure a fair pay deal for late 2026 and beyond. Meanwhile, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) is also set to launch strike action on Monday.
