The Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan is confident the Lansdowne Road agreement will be passed, with of without the support of teachers.

Yesterday the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) recommended that its members vote against the new pay deal.

They say it does not address concerns relating to extra working hours for Institute of Technology lecturers, brought in through previous pay deals.

It followed a meeting of its executive committee, which heard that the proposals did not allay a number of significant concerns.

Union members will be balloted on the measures hammered out last week in the autumn.

The proposals agreed last week by unions and government representatives will see most public servants having their pay restored by around €2,000, over three phases between January 2016 and September 2017.

The agreement will also see the protections of the Haddington Road Agreement extended to September 2018.

But Minister O'Sullivan told Live95 that she says the focus of the agreement is on lower paid workers, and not those in the higher education sector.