There have been noisy scenes outside the Dáil and ASTI headquarters in Dublin today as hundreds of students took to the streets in protest at the on-going teachers strike.
A group of pupils also met with the Minister for Education to hand in petitions and letters complaining at the effect the row is having on exam preparations.
But in the Dáil, the Taoiseach re-iterated that the ASTI's 30% pay claim cannot be met outside the terms of the National Wage Agreement.