I appreciate the huge workload placed on the shoulders of school leaders and school communities. I recognise the importance of these additional days and how beneficial they have been. Now they have been given, we can see the excellent use to which they were put and how necessary a provision they were. The Department showed considerable foresight in putting them in place. I in no way underestimate their benefit or value. We will review the Covid-19 measures required for next year in the context of the budget but I a…

I appreciate the Deputy's points. In the context of Covid-19, a series of webinars was put on on the specific demands placed on principals and school leaders. Webinars were also available to the school community, including parents with children returning to school. They will continue in the context of Covid-19.

From Monday, 9 November, Ireland has implemented the EU co-ordinated traffic lights approach for those travelling into Ireland. In general this requires those returning to or entering Ireland from orange or red list countries to restrict their movements for 14 days. This includes school staff, parents and students, including students coming from abroad to attend school in Ireland. Restricting movements means staying indoors in one location and avoiding contact with other people and social situations as much as poss…

I cannot speak to the specific case the Deputy has raised because I am not familiar with it. In general, schools have a duty of care to their students and staff, as I have outlined. If there is a view that this duty of care is being impeded by the return of a student who has travelled abroad and is not observing whatever restrictions have been deemed necessary at that time, the school can act. Schools have every right to refuse access to anyone who has not fulfilled his or her obligation to restrict his or her move…

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the sincerity with which he makes this point. I reiterate that if a school has any suspicion that its duty of care is impeded by the actions of anyone within the school community it has an absolute right to refuse access. I have every confidence that those measures will be implemented appropriately by schools.

I thank the Deputy. As he is aware, the management of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in schools is led by the HSE's departments of public health. The Department of Education and Skills does not provide guidance of a clinical or medical nature. The contact tracing teams are led by public health professionals. The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, has published a definition of a close contact in an educational setting, which was communicated to all schools and their partners in education. I will outline t…

I should point out that I appreciate and understand absolutely why this is an area of huge concern. It is an area of huge concern not only within education facilities but in wider society as well. I acknowledge the very close working relationship and the excellent work undertaken by public health on care of our schools and incidents in our schools. We have enhanced the school teams. Obviously, they are still led by public health because it is public health's determination that qualifies everything within the school…

As I said, and I will reiterate it, there has been huge engagement between public health and schools. The school teams process is working particularly well and to general acceptance all round, including partners in education and schools on the ground. The school teams are doing a very good job, and that has improved and added to communication levels between schools and public health. Equally, the provision of webinars for school leaders and information being made available have also been very positively embraced. O…

Practical steps for the deployment of good ventilation practices were provided to schools in August in the context of reopening for September 2020. This guidance has recently been reviewed and was circulated to the education partners for their feedback. The updated guidance has now been published. As for good ventilation practices in schools, it is important, particularly as we get further into winter, that we achieve an appropriate balance between good ventilation and comfort in schools. The overall approach for s…

The minor works grant has been paid twice this year into schools. It was paid in August and will be paid again in December. It gives schools the autonomy to do what needs to be done or whatever they might specifically identify within the school that requires work. This can be a very wide capacity of work. It can be limited to one area or can be finance that is disbursed into a variety of projects within the school. That is a very positive movement for schools, and the uptake of it has been exceptional and has been …

Regarding the minor works grants, we are talking about an allocation of €75 million in August and €15 million now in December. A school with 1,000 pupils, for example, would have received €110,000 in the first tranche last August. There is substantial funding going into schools. As I stated, more funding is to come in December. However, I will take the details of the specific case raised by the Deputy. Obviously, where there are other extraordinary measures we ask schools to revert to the Department in order that w…

I wish to acknowledge the Deputy's personal interest in moving this issue forward and his engagement with me on the matter on several occasions. I can confirm that the Department is in receipt of an application for additional school accommodation from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. The application is currently being assessed and, once it is completed, the school authority will be informed of the outcome. When capacity issues arise, they may not be as a result of a lack of accommodation. They may be…

I am aware that when the school opened in 2016 it was to cater for 400 pupils and its current enrolment is 530. There has been significant growth there. I know the application has been with the Department since April 2019. For the information of the Deputy, discussions are ongoing with the ETB to agree the long-term projected enrolment for the school. I am informed that this process is very close to completion. I am aware that the application the school has made is for 11 general classrooms and eight additional spe…

I appreciate the work that has been done to date. The Deputy referenced many individuals who have contributed to the development of the school. The fact that its enrolment went from 400 to 530 and is now projected to rise further is testament to the hard work, determination and generosity of so many who were willing to work on a common agenda, namely, the betterment of education provision in an area. I wish to acknowledge that. The Department is currently finalising with the ETB the projected figures. They will be …

School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019-20 school year, more than 120,000 children were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country, covering more than 100 million km at a cost in excess of €219 million in 2019. The Department is very conscious of the specialised nature of transport provision for children with special educational needs and this is reflected in the approach that is ta…

With regard to the case the Deputy referred to in respect of a special transport grant, I will outline exactly how that works. The special transport grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided at the discretion of the Department in situations where: Bus Éireann is not in a position to provide a transport service; where a child's age, behavioural difficulties or medical needs are such as to make the provision of a transport service impractical; an escort is considered necessary and the p…

-----the Deputy might give me the details and I will ask my officials to investigate and expedite the matter. There is a clear acknowledgement in the Department that in some instances it is necessary for the special transport grant to be paid.

Again, to refer to the previous case the Deputy raised, there is considerable flexibility and an acknowledgement in the Department that one size does not necessarily fit all. For that reason, as I pointed out with regard to the special transport grant and the various criteria, the criteria are quite wide in terms of eligibility and making provision for personally providing transport for children based on their specific needs or Bus Éireann's capacity. With regard to the nearest school and issues that might arise th…

In the case referred to by the Deputy, the Department of Education has made initial contact with the school and is engaging further to establish the facts in this case in order to provide a report for my attention. It is important to note that decisions on school uniform policies are a matter for the school's board of management at local level. Schools are advised to consult with parents and students when drafting a policy on uniforms. My Department provides funding and policy direction for schools. It has legal po…

It is important that in any incident that pertains to a school that each school is given the time and space to address the situation as it arises and to make a determination. My Department has already engaged with the school and it will continue to engage with it. A report will be furnished to me once that engagement is concluded. The engagement is in the first instance with the board of management, which has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the school. Deputy Barry will be aware that the board has auto…