Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

We are working through those issues at the moment. We recognise that there will be a need for the employment of additional staff. In particular, we have to free up leadership time and there will be a need to cover that. We have to examine different ways of doing substitution for teachers and SNAs. We have trialled new systems of substitution in the primary sector with panels. We had five panels last year. We also have the option in small schools where teaching principals have administrative days, that they pool those days and appoint a substitute to cover a number of schools. We are looking at those and other models to support schools. We may also need to have increased substitution because at the moment schools cover themselves for the first day of substitution for uncertified leave.

It clearly will not be satisfactory to spread children to other classes. That is not going to be a solution. There may be a very small fraction of classes where that is possible but as a general model that is not a way that we are going.