4,000 lecturers and researchers at the country's institutes of technology will go on strike today in a row over cutbacks and staff levels.
Staff say that the number of students has increased by nearly 22,000 since 2008, while the number of lecturing positions has decreased at the same time by 550.
They also claim they are struggling to cope with cuts which have stripped €190m in funding from the system.
The lecturers are being represented by teachers' union the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI). A national ballot of members in December is said to have shown an 'overwhelming mandate' for the industrial action.
The union's president, Gerry Quinn, says they have been working closely with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and that students fully support the strike action:
