An insider's guide to education

• So who has blinked first in the ritual dance that surrounds Noel Dempsey's attendance at the teacher conferences?

Clearly both the Minister and the teacher unions have compromised. Yes, the INTO has ceded ground by agreeing to change the format of its conference to accommodate the Minister's desire for real communication. But the Minister has also given way by no longer insisting on a forum modelled on the Your Education System (YES) debates.

So why has Noel Dempsey changed tack? Can it be, as some teacher unions suggest, that he came under pressure at the recent Fianna Fáil ardfheis to drop the confrontation with teachers. The profession is still fuming about that pre-Christmas inspection of schools. Worse still, that incident still rankles even with moderate, mild-mannered teachers.

• The postal dispute is bad news for the 700 teachers who don't get paid by direct bank transfer. Last week, the teachers in question were asked to call to the Marlborough Street offices in Dublin to collect their cheques. It all served as a reminder that not everyone is at the cutting edge of new technology.

• The battle for the top jobs in the ASTI is well under way. Malahide teacher Susie Hall will take over as president shortly. Two candidates have emerged for the vice-presidency, Lily Cronin from Kerry and Sheila Parsons from Dublin. Cronin, who was quick to condemn any move toward league tables in the media last week, is the early favourite.

• Gerry Wrixon may be a controversial president of UCC. But few can doubt his success. The latest CAO figures confirm the university's dominant status in the Munster region and beyond.

Applications in virtually all key areas are up, despite the overall drop in CAO numbers. These include arts (up 5 per cent), commerce (up 6 per cent), law (up 17 per cent), science (up 14 per cent), food science and technology (up 24 per cent) and medicine (up 26 per cent).