TEACHER'S PET:Another day, another press release from one of the three teacher unions warning of dire consequences if there is pay cut for members.

It is all part of an elaborate ritual where the unions are seen by members to counter the stuff pumped out by Ibec and the rest.

But are the teacher unions reflecting the real views of their members?

In every staffroom in the State, teachers are talking about the impact of the economic crisis on their partners, their children and their extended families.

Many say they are willing to take some pain if it helps to preserve jobs and restore the country’s competitiveness. Many appear ready to show some sense of solidarity with those who have lost their jobs in Dell, Superquinn and elsewhere.

Privately, most teachers acknowledge they enjoy decent pay and conditions, certainly much better than what is now available in the private sector. And that is before one takes into account those terrific pension arrangements.

Wouldn’t it lift the spirits if even one senior figure in the teacher unions came out and said they were willing to put take some pain in order to protect the jobs of others?

Is every senior member of the INTO, the ASTI and the TUI happy to endorse the “what we have we hold’’ mentality?

Or is there room for what President Obama called a “new era of responsibility’?’

Who says there is no entrepreneurial zeal among our young? A 19-year-old Dublin student, Caomhan Connolly, has tapped into the lucrative debs ball market.

The result? The Debs and Students Fashion Expo – a one-stop shop for the industry and for students – in the RDS in March. More than 40 exhibitors – brandishing limos, tuxedos and cosmetics – have already been lined up. And The Irish Times is the official media partner of the event.

Connolly is a former pupil of Mount Temple Comprehensive – U2's alma mater– on the Malahide Road in Dublin.