Will the Taoiseach ensure that the relevant Minister engages with this category of student?

I ask the Taoiseach to ensure engagement with the Minister.

People have spent years waiting not only on council housing lists but for an affordable housing policy. It has been years since there has been any such policy that would work for them. Having one's own home, a permanent place to live securely, is instrumental in people's lives. Without it, many things suffer. Countless life decisions are put off and other things are held up. There is a lack of security and employment and other issues are affected. People cannot wait any longer. Every week, I am contacted by people …

Tá, leis na Teachtaí Martin Browne agus Patricia Ryan.

Yes. I will speak in one passage and the Minister can then respond. Before I begin on my main topics of the reopening of schools and provision, I want to touch briefly on two other issues. The first is external candidates. I have written to the Minister in the past week giving him two very tough examples of students who will likely not get calculated grades. I echo Deputy McAuliffe's point about answers, but we need more than answers. There needs to be an alternative as well. Inevitably, some students will not get …

It is not what I said. The Minister can check the record.

The Minister will be aware of the Sinn Féin policy document on forestry published last year. It was based on viewing forestry not only as a commercial enterprise, but as a way to ensure biodiversity and provide an amenity for communities. I have written to Coillte regarding Oldcourt woods at Garryduff in Rochestown. It is an area of considerable biodiversity in spite of its relatively small size. It is home to a variety of squirrels, including the increasingly rare red squirrel, as well as jays, rabbits, foxes and,…

I was vocal previously on the issue of planning for the reopening of the schools and wish to comment briefly on it again. It occurred to me when the Minister was speaking earlier about dates that it is three months since the schools closed. In all that time, as I said on the last occasion, schools have not had any direct communication from the Department on what they should be doing to prepare to reopen. We will see what comes out on Friday but as far as I am concerned, it is more than a few days late. I hope it is…

A dollar short. Bhíos ag caint le príomhoide le linn na seachtaine, and they asked me why children with special educational needs are never the highest priority for the Department, which is a fair point. If ever there was a time for them to be the priority, it is now. Children with special educational needs and those suffering educational disadvantage are those who have lost most from school buildings being closed and they should be number one on the Department's agenda. Parents are under unbelievable strain. Child…

I note the Minister did not contradict me. My understanding is that only five or six schools have signed up at this stage. More may come forward but I have similar concerns in respect of teachers. I have spoken to some who ordinarily participate but who are not prepared to do so now because they are unhappy about the lack of detail and feel uncertain. Another issue for schools is that of insurance. Clarity must be provided in that regard. The Minister asked us to be constructive. Where teachers are concerned, the M…

Tá mé ag roinnt le Deputies Cullinane agus Funchion. I will begin my contribution on the same subject I commenced my contribution to the previous debate we had on this area a little under two weeks ago. At that stage, I told the Minister that I felt it was not good enough that schools had had no communication on reopening from 12 March until that date. Since then, while there has been much discussion on the issue, in some respects we are not much wiser. Confusion reigned last Thursday and Friday when the Minister t…

That is all very well but some communication should have been possible since 12 March. Schools deserve some kind of communication or indication. They should have gotten that and they still have not, as far as I am aware. Staying with the-----

No school I have spoken to has had direct contact from the Department about reopening. They may have had some in the last four or five days, but up until then they had not received any contact. That is a fact based on all the schools I have spoken to, which is around 20. Staying with the reopening-----

It is quite reasonable for the Department to go back to schools and explain the process, where we are, what we are waiting for and the criteria involved. There are messages and preparations that could have happened-----

I am unfortunately going to have to truncate the rest of my contribution, though I was going to come in on a few issues. First, I refer to calculated grades. Parliamentary questions that I got back today tell me two things quite clearly. If one cannot get a calculated grade, there is no other option and there is not going to be a written leaving certificate before third level admissions. Students who cannot get calculated grades deserve some kind of plan B. It is a small cohort and something should be done for them…

I will begin with the issue that has featured most in the public domain in recent days, namely, the return of building based schooling. I say it in this way because schools are still working. I know teachers have gone to extraordinary lengths and I give Deputy Cathal Crowe an A plus for managing to get in as many constituency schools into his contribution as he did.

I am sure he does but he is not getting my time for them. Teachers have gone to extraordinary lengths and it is fair to recognise that others have also made a contribution, such as "Cúla4 ar Scoil" on TG4 and "Home School Hub" on RTÉ. While they are not as good as the ordinary school experience, they have helped put shape on the day for parents and children, including my family. Where else would we learn to put together a pyramid with spaghetti and jelly babies? It is undoubtedly the case, and this is disputed by n…

I will break my contribution into two parts: leaving certificate and other issues and I have allowed about a minute and half after each for the Minister to respond, if that is alright. Some of what I say will be critical so I want to preface it by saying that I understand the Minister and the Department are in a very difficult situation, that all the options were difficult and the decisions were taken in good faith but that does not mean that we should not interrogate them. Leaving certificate students have endured…

I thank the Minister and appreciate his making himself and his officials available for engagement on an ongoing basis. I am running tight on time but wish to flag something to which the Minister can respond in writing, rather than eating into Deputies Tully and Clarke's time. The pressure the parents of special needs children are under cannot be understated. The children's lives and routines have been turned upside down and they cannot understand it. They are frustrated and sad and often are falling further behind.…

I have been contacted by students throughout the State who are under severe pressure. To do the leaving certificate any year is extremely testing, much more so against the background of a pandemic and much more so again against a background of such complete uncertainty. They are worried and anxious and, what is more, they are frustrated and angry at the lack of detail and the fact that many ideas are first floated half-formed in the media rather than concrete full plans being proposed. I am also frustrated. I appre…