Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for appearing in front of the committee today and I want to acknowledge her work to date. I understand the pressure must be immense and while we certainly differ in approach, I appreciate the work she has contributed so far. The last line of the Minister’s statement stated that “now, more than ever, we need to stay in this together”.

My Sinn Féin colleague, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, raised the issue of a family where the mother is suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia, CLL. They cannot send their two teenage children to school because the mother is at such risk. I do not believe the Minister's answer was satisfactory. I will ask her again: what exactly are we providing for parents who have extreme underlying health conditions and cannot send their children to school and, because it is they who are suffering as opposed to their children, they cannot access remote learning. How are those families being supported? They are in severe situations and we cannot leave them behind.