Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My last question is on the impact of Covid on enrolment policies and numbers. One school in my constituency, Rampark national school, which lost ten pupils following the opening of a new national school in the area has lost two teachers as a result. St. Patrick's national school in Harestown has 197 pupils but needed to have 201 and all classes are now overcrowded as a result. Notwithstanding the additional 1,000 teachers, which I welcome, does Covid offer the opportunity to reconsider overcrowding in classrooms as a result of teachers being lost, particularly the two I mentioned?