Conditions in teacher-training colleges were described as "disgraceful" by a Dundalk delegate, Ms Deirdre Nic an Adhastair.
"In the case of Mary Immaculate [in Limerick city], what was once a proud and comfortable campus is now a hideous prefabricated settlement. Tennis courts, playing fields and car parks are rapidly disappearing under a sea of temporary shelters. Even that isn't enough to accommodate the influx of student teachers. No. They are being forced to travel further into the cities to vacant rooms in random buildings to sit their lectures," she said.
The INTO had let student teachers down. "I hear calls for more teachers. More?" Only when standards were raised to an acceptable level would she support the call for more teachers.
The INTO is broadcasting live coverage of its conference at www.into.ie. This is the first time an Irish teacher union conference has been broadcast in this way.