Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the speakers for their contributions. All indications point to there being extreme challenges for teachers, students and those who will be in the educational system in September. The classroom will look very different in September from what it did in March. Safety for all is paramount. When one considers all of the mitigating circumstances, over the past six months Covid has shown us that there are major faultlines in the public services regarding health, education and so forth but particularly education because of the teacher:student ratio. In those circumstances the school classroom will look very different come September, if not completely different under the guidelines. What is needed is what was needed in the health service at the beginning of March and April when we had a Be on Call for Ireland for health staff coming back from abroad. We also had recruitment freezes and new teachers entering the education system. Resources are needed to meet the huge challenges facing the education system. Obviously everybody wants more resources, but do we need an Be on Call for Ireland part II for the education system?

School secretaries play a huge role in the education system but 90% of them are not recognised as public servants, which is incredible. I would like to hear the views of the witnesses on the call for more resources. We need a call to arms to make the education system functional and safe for everybody. We also need to put in the resources because, if not, the classroom will be unable to function.