THE Minister for Education has welcomed the decision of the second level teacher unions to reenter negotiations on the Government's £66.7 million offer on pay and conditions.
Ms Breathnach said she was pleased "no one has closed the door" after the rejection of the offer by two of the three unions.
The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) conferences voted this week to seek a renegotiation of the deal, rather than take immediate industrial action.
Ms Breathnach said the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, which has approved the deal, had made a strong case for the implementation of those parts specific to primary teachers.
The Minister, who was answering questions on The Pat Kenny Show on RTE radio, assured listeners that history was not being dropped from the school curriculum.
Ms Breathnach said she would ask the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to look again at the proposal in the White Paper not to include history as a core subject for the Junior Cert. She pointed out that, although history was a core subject in secondary schools, this was not the case in the community and comprehensive schools.