Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Foley, to the committee. I thank her for all the work she has done since taking up her portfolio, together with her officials and the various stakeholders. I know it has been challenging, in particular in recent months. I hope that as we see the schools reopen in a safe environment, we will see the fruits of that work.

Earlier today we had sessions with several unions – the TUI, the ASTI, the INTO and Fórsa. I praised the work of principals, deputy principals and the school staff, in particular during the month of August, in getting schools prepared and ready for reopening. The Minister mentioned the €375 million that was available for that purpose to most schools. I will come back with some questions on that but praise must be given to those staff because of the tremendous effort that has been put in by all involved in schools.

Later, we heard from Inclusion Ireland and the National Parents Council Primary and the National Parents Council Post Primary about their needs and challenges. If I have time, I will put the questions to the Minister that came up in those earlier sessions. I also commend the work of the Minister and her officials on their drive and ambition in getting the schools reopened. When we last met the Minister in this committee in June, there was scepticism on whether schools would reopen in time in September and she has achieved that, so I commend her on it.

That is not to say there are not challenges. We know there will be challenges going forward. The scale of the challenges facing the education sector should not be underestimated. The Minister touched on some of those in earlier contributions about the leaving certificate and, in particular, the calculated grades. Information for parents and students is essential. The information that was released some weeks ago was very welcome. Some schools, including in my constituency, did excellent information videos, targeted mainly at junior infants, those who did not get an opportunity to have their first day in the classroom with their parents. They targeted that and they did it very successfully and I commend them on that.

I have a number of questions and the Minister may not have time to answer them. I think there is an issue with the sound which I hope will be addressed when the committee next meets. It seems to be between the committee room and here. If the Minister does not have time to answer all the questions she might please come back to me.

Similar to the previous question about Deputies being contacted by teachers, especially with concerns about their own health and that of the students in their care, what is the process that they must undergo if they are displaying symptoms? What supports are in place for them, including the provision of substitute teachers? That is a big issue.

The second question I have touches on the contributions from the unions in an earlier session today. A school had a lack of warm water. Surely the €375 million that was available could be used for that kind of thing, because a school is not Covid-ready without warm water. I ask the Minister to comment on that. I do not have the details of where the school is but that is immaterial.

The Minister is aware that I have raised mental health and well-being in schools in particular at post-primary level as a real issue, especially in the face of Covid. Could the Minister elaborate on what supports are available, in particular in terms of the student support service and the National Educational Psychological Service?

I ask the Minister to please answer those questions. She is very welcome before the committee.