IFUT members across participating universities and higher education institutions successfully withdrew their labour from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, 5 October, marking the first action in the union’s campaign in the current public sector dispute.

IFUT General Secretary Frank Jones yesterday addressed the “Fund Our Future” national student demonstration outside Dáil Éireann, bringing solidarity from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and IFUT to students campaigning for accessible, affordable and properly funded higher education.

According to figures published in the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2026, which has been launched this moring, Ireland had 19 tertiary students for every member of teaching staff in 2024, compared with an OECD average of 15.