John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Are there any plans to test students or teachers for the virus? Are all schools obliged to implement the Covid-19 return to work form? What are the guidelines from the Department on that matter?

This issue may have been covered already, but those advocating on behalf of SNAs are saying that there will be difficulties regarding social distancing when it comes to PEG feeding, meeting hygiene needs and-or providing assistance in a classroom. I would also like some details in respect of PPE provision. Several schools may have this problem, but I am thinking, in particular, of Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna in my constituency which is located in a rundown, 20 year old, prefabricated building. According to the news reports this morning, social distancing is difficult and challenging there. I know the witnesses do not have a magic wand, and many of these issues boil down to money, but when will it possible to give a definitive outline to parents, the vast majority of whom want their children to return to school in September, of the circumstances in which children can return to school and what kind of procedures will be in place regarding social distancing? I refer to teachers or SNAs in this regard.

I turn now to children with special needs. I hear awful stories about July provision. It is like a tapestry: the front looks fine, but looking around the back it is possible to see the squiggly bits. It is not working for parents who have children with special needs at home. By 1 September, those children will have been at home for six months, with all the associated pressures and mental stress involved with that. If there is a requirement for physical distancing, what consideration is the Department of Education and Skills giving to this issue? If there is a requirement for all children not to attend school each day because of physical distancing requirements, what consideration is being given to families where both parents are working and to families where the single parent is working?

Turning to blended learning, I suppose having a decent broadband system would have created a level playing field. One of the stories I consistently hear from parents concerns the demand on broadband at home. It is fine if there is just one person with one laptop, assuming all students have laptops or tablets, which they do not. What kind of consideration is being given to situations where there are multiple demands on IT at home but only one piece of equipment? I refer to where a parent is working remotely from home and there is an impact on the bandwidth and strength of the broadband feeding into the system.

We take many things for granted, particularly living in urban areas, although two thirds of my Dublin constituency is rural and there are issues with broadband in parts of the area. We talk about blended learning, however, and there seems to be an assumption that everybody has equal access to these blended learning facilities. What have we learned in recent months regarding blended learning? Those are my questions.