Following the release of Budget 15 yesterday, the Ministers have been responding to concerns regarding their portfolios.

Minister for Education, Jan O'Sullivan, spoke to Lunchtime about the reaction to the education budget, claiming that her main priority was class size.

She also commented that for the first time in a number of years, there was an increase in the education budget:

 However, primary and secondary teachers unions say plans to recruit 1,700 new teachers next year don't go far enough.

The ASTI and INTO say that while any new recruitment is welcome, the new hires won't be enough to bring down the pupil-teacher ratio, which stands as one of the highest in Europe.