At the outset I want to be very clear that we have followed public health advice and guidance in our schools. It is the expert view of public health officials that our schools are places of low transmission, largely because of the very significant and substantial infection prevention and control measures that are in place in schools. Specifically on the points made by the Deputy on CO2 monitors, these were suggested and are available in our schools. Equally, in terms of ventilation we have been very clear at every …

Again, to reiterate, at the risk of repeating myself, we follow best practice public health advice in our schools. Indeed, that is what we have done in wider society also. The Deputy is aware it is the expert judgment of the Chief Medical Officer, CMO, that there is now a role for antigen testing in our schools and the HSE has been charged with the responsibility of rolling that out. The Deputy will be aware that if a child tests positive, parents are being asked to inform the principal. In turn, the principal is b…

I appreciate the question and the sincerity with which it is put. The Deputy may be aware that, between 2016 and 2020, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, undertook an extensive review of senior cycle programmes and vocational pathways. The NCCA’s advisory report on the senior cycle has been submitted to my Department for consideration and will be published once that consideration is complete. I am aware of the desire in the education community and more generally for that to happen, but we mus…

I appreciate the point the Deputy made. Covid has focused our lens even more closely on how the leaving certificate and senior cycle operate. To be fair, the entire review involves all of the senior cycle, and, therefore, includes the leaving certificate applied, the leaving certificate established and the leaving certificate vocational programme. We are also referring to the transition year programme as well. I agree that when we are looking at the senior cycle, we must look at it in its entirety. I acknowledge th…

I appreciate the points the Deputy has made and the urgency with which he views the question. The review was four years in the making and involves a considerable body of work. There was the widest consultation, rightly, with all the partners in education – parents, teachers, wider society, obviously students as well, and also the views and experiences of experts from other jurisdictions. Therefore, it demands a level of consideration that is important. As I previously outlined to the Deputy, it has involved further…

I am the first to acknowledge that these have been difficult and challenging times, not just currently but throughout the pandemic, for all school leaders and all school communities. There has been an extraordinary generosity by school leaders and school communities to do what needs to be done in the delivery of education and to pivot in other directions when it was not possible to maintain the delivery in the school setting and to provide remote teaching and learning. I accept there are continuing challenges in th…

I want to be very clear. No single measure is sufficient of itself to meet the challenges that are particularly acute in some areas. I have referenced the fact that those who are on secondment, in particular those who are on secondment to the professional development service for teachers, PDST, will be released and made available. That is an important measure. It is important to say also that a number of measures have been announced in the last while and these are additional measures that are being announced today.…

To clarify with regard to substitution, a whole myriad of measures are being made available to schools, not one single measure. In terms of special education specifically, it is very important that children who need to avail of particular supports because they have particular special educational challenges should receive that support at the time they are scheduled to receive it. I do not think it is helpful to pit one group of students against another. It is important that, as the need arises and as the students ar…

I appreciate the question. The approach to supporting schools to operate safely during Covid-19 has been to follow and implement public health advice. A range of measures have been implemented across schools, including social distancing, enhanced cleaning and, as the Deputy will be aware, mask wearing in some settings for students and in all settings for staff. As of 27 September 2021, following a recommendation from NPHET, a decision was taken to cease routine contact tracing of asymptomatic close contacts in chil…

I thank the Deputy. Again, I appreciate the very positive approach he takes and the generosity with which he shares his experience. In terms of our schools as they exist, comparable to other schools, there are very significant infection prevention and control measures in our schools, and I would venture to say they are not comparable to the lack of them in other jurisdictions. On antigen testing, the Deputy will appreciate there have been very differing views on antigen tests, their utility and their effectiveness,…

I thank the Deputy. In terms of antigen testing, obviously, it is a public health measure and it is being led by the HSE, but there is a significant body of work under way whereby guidelines will now be made available to school principals, school staff and parents, and that will all be communicated in advance of Monday, 29 November. How correctly to utilise and use antigen testing will also form part of that communication, which is very important. Particular significance has been given to that by all of the public …

I appreciate the Deputy raising this issue and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has raised it with me on an ongoing basis as well. I recognise the considerable challenge experienced by all of those impacted by mica. I have met families and representative groups to discuss the issue and I want to confirm that my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is engaging extensively with homeowners, as the Deputy will be aware, to deve…

I want to make it clear that I do not for one minute underestimate the personal difficulties of any family, individual, young person or child experiencing mica defects in their homes. As I have outlined, there are specific and strong supports available within our school system. Equally, additional measures have been put in place this year. For example, for the first time almost 4,000 hours are going to Donegal ETB under the CLASS, which is for academic and holistic supports that students would require at this time,…

I do not in any way take from the seriousness of the situation. There has been a request for counselling services and that is a matter for the Department of Health. It has responsibility for the provision of counselling services, and through the HSE it provides primary care psychology and CAMHS services to children and young people with mental health needs. On the additional supports that might help, I am open to officials in my Department meeting Donegal ETB, recognising that there is a body of measures in place. …

As the Deputy may be aware, the NCCA carried out a review of the senior cycle between 2016 and 2020, leading to the advisory report the Deputy has referenced. The review covered a number of areas, including the question of the overall identity and purposes of senior cycle education; how to establish continuity and progression with the new junior cycle; and the range of learning programmes and pathways available to students at senior cycle. In addition to this, the review considers: how best to improve flexibility a…

In the first instance, as I referenced earlier, the senior cycle review is just that. It reviews all of senior cycle. That is important because it includes leaving certificate established or, as we would call it, leaving certificate; the transition year programme; leaving certificate applied; and leaving certificate vocational programme, LCVP. It is very much a holistic look at all that is on offer currently at senior cycle. It proposes to address the key questions of the overall identity and purpose of senior cycl…

It is important to point out that all learnings from Covid are important, not only within the education sector but in all of society. Specifically, in relation to the questions the Deputies raise here in terms of senior cycle, all of what we have learned through Covid is an important consideration. All of what we have learned and experienced prior to Covid also will inform this report. Deputy O'Donnell quite correctly referred to the leaving certificate, as we are focused on the leaving certificate, as being a very…

I thank Deputy Ward for his question. I wish to advise the Deputy that the Department is aware of increasing local pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas, including the mid-west Dublin area. However, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by a number of different factors, as the Deputy will be aware. In some instances, it could be duplication of applications where …

I mentioned some of those points because they can cause specific issues at different times. Under Project Ireland 2040, €8.9 billion will be invested by the Department of Education in the school building programme. On additional school accommodation being made available in Dublin mid-west, it is intended that the following building projects will provide additional capacity in these areas: at St. Joseph's College there is a project for extension, refurbishment to cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pu…

There are further large-scale projects which will also provide additional school accommodation in the Dublin mid-west area, including at Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, Collinstown Park Community College, Coláiste Cois Life and the school in which, I appreciate, the Deputy has a particular interest, namely, St. Kevin's Community College. St. Kevin's was provided with additional general classroom, specialist subject and ancillary accommodation under the Department's 2021 modular framework to meet additional needs in…