Industrial action by members of the INTO has been deferred until the new year, according to the union's general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole. An INTO executive committee meeting on Friday was told of a number of informal discussions between the INTO and the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, over the past week.

They heard of the Minister's invitation to set up talks on an agreed agenda with the objective of exploring a framework of staffing and funding priorities for primary education.

It was decided that the industrial action approved by the central executive committee should be deferred until the New Year to allow negotiations to take place between now and Christmas. Balloting has taken place in many branches and resulted in "overwhelming and unanimous votes" in favour of industrial action, according to O'Toole.

As part of an intensification of the campaign to highlight school funding and staffing, the executive had decided to authorise industrial action by all school principals in Co Clare, all teachers on Achill Island and all teachers in the west Cork branches of Bantry and Bandon. However, at a meeting on Friday, it was decided to defer this action.

In response to the news at the weekend that industrial action is being deferred, a spokesman for the Department of Education and Science said: "The INTO used strike action as a first response.

The Department never agreed that children should be taken out of their classrooms to support strike action. We are pleased that the union has decided to call off its action."