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Teachers' Unions Press Pay Demands as Minister Announces AI Schools Taskforce

The conferences set the terms for looming national pay talks.

Overview

  • The Minister for Education announced an AI advisory taskforce for schools, with invitations due this month and a first meeting expected in May, to guide policy on teaching, learning and assessment.
  • The INTO backed possible industrial action over the non‑restoration of special allowances cut during austerity, saying members expected these payments to be reinstated under the current deal.
  • At its congress, the TUI is renewing calls for a 1% pay increase backdated to 1 September 2025 under local bargaining and for extra funding to help schools deliver new project‑based assessments.
  • ASTI delegates are debating pay motions that include escalating industrial action in September unless all pay scales rise by 6%, alongside other proposals on workload and sick leave rules.
  • Teachers across unions warn that new Leaving Cert project components, which will make up at least 40% of grades from 2027, risk unfairness because AI can mask authorship and many students lack adequate devices.