Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It may take a couple of weeks for any child to settle back in, particularly this year. From a practical perspective at post-primary level, the absence of lockers and having to carry big, heavy books and also, perhaps, some gym gear or equipment for practical classes or whatever it may be, all adds to the anxiety of managing a day and managing it differently as well. Some of the videos have been helpful. I do not know about other members of the committee but I have seen few videos that have been targeted at children other than videos of the new school arrangement, or walking on this or the other side of the corridor. The actual experience of a child coming in, sanitising his or her hands and wondering where he or she can put his or her stuff can generate significant anxiety for a 14 or 15 year old.

With the time I have left I want to raise, in particular, from the perspective of parents, the drop-off and collection arrangements. When Ms Lynch was here before I asked her and the Department about looking at this from the perspective of parent and sibling coordinated drop-offs rather than class drop-offs. If we are concerned about the management or congregation of parents around the school and the impact on risk for community transmission in that way, then minimizing the hanging around may alleviate that. One might have one child who is collected an hour early or another child who is collected 40 minutes early from the same family, or three children in three different classes. It really is going to make it much more difficult for parents.

Ms Lynch referred to it earlier, but could she make a broader comment on it for the committee?