Dr. Tony Gaynor:

A few of the questions were directly for the Department of Education and Skills. In terms of the timing of the report, the findings and discussion by the joint committee have been very useful in informing our thinking, identifying issues and filling in the gaps. To echo Dr. Holohan, we are very committed to concluding a process which we have started already. We are also of the view that what we want out of this is a single resource. We do not want duplication of resources out there, as it would lead to confusion among relevant stakeholders. We want one common resource that can be used in any setting, although it might have to be tailored to specific instances. That can be covered in the common resource, but what we do not want is a different resource for each sector. We want the schools sector and the education sector to fold into the overall resource so that the final guidance developed by the Department of Health with co-operation from ourselves and the sports bodies will be applicable to schools as well. Our role will be to disseminate that across the education sector and to schools. We do not want to be involved in drafting a specific resource for schools, however. A common resource that crosses sectors is important and that is what we support.

Concussion is a society-wide issue and schools have an important role to play in that regard. However, we do not want schools to be seen as a panacea for all of society's ills. Children spend a limited amount of time in school in comparison to out-of-school time. Parents have a huge role to play, and the information campaign that is launched and of which schools will be a part should be targeting parents and coaches, among other groups. We have heard from the joint committee's proceedings over previous days of the importance of education for GPs and other medical practitioners also. These are all sectors of society that must be informed and subject to awareness-raising. One member of the joint committee indicated that she had had a fall in the bathroom and learned about the dangers of concussion the hard way, and that there is sometimes a time lag before symptoms manifest themselves. We see it, therefore, as a society-wide issue. We are committed to and supportive of playing a role in relation to schools, but will row in behind the overall expertise of the health experts.

The question of first aid was raised. In the safety statement schools must produce as part of their assessments of risk, one of the matters that must be taken into consideration is the extent to which first aid exists within a school. If there are gaps, or if inadequate numbers of staff have received training, those will be identified in school training plans. We leave it to boards of management of schools and to whomever responsibility for safety has been delegated within a school to make the call. Boards of management are autonomous in terms of how they govern the schools and we leave the decision as to how many people are trained in first aid to them. That is most appropriate.

Senator Burke asked about sports facilities. As new schools are built, sports facilities are provided. The Senator is right that we have a huge capital budget that is spent on building schools, and within that the priority is on new school placements, which has to be the case. However, it is open to schools to apply for funding. If there are schools in urban areas which have deficiencies in relation to sports halls, they can apply to be considered as part of the capital programme. Within the application process there is prioritisation across different sectors, so such applications will be considered. While the Department must make a call on priorities, it is open to schools to apply and be considered for capital funding for sports halls. Applications will be considered in due process as part of the overall capital budget available to the Department.