Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised an instance where a staff member or student takes ill in school. The guidelines for this process have issued to the schools and there is absolute clarity around them. A student who feels unwell will be taken to the isolation space. The parent or guardian is called and contact is made by them with a GP. That GP will determine if a test is required and if it is, and proves positive, public health will then engage with the family and school. The public health team will make the decision as to what happens next. Representatives of that team will come and do the testing and tracing, and determine if a single class, a larger group or a year group is exposed to infection. All decisions about what happens next will be overseen by public health because it is at that stage that the infection becomes a public health issue. That is no different to what operates in any other environment or workplace.

I am glad that the Deputy raised a question about warm water. In excess of €160 million has already issued to the schools, including an amount for minor works. Schools were free to do whatever they felt necessary with that particular budget to ensure, insofar as possible, that they would remain free of Covid-19. Schools could reconfigure space in classrooms and so on and so forth but that funding was specifically available for works in schools where warm water was an issue. I would have to say, equally-----