Mr. Andy Pike:

Fórsa has met the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion but our main engagement is with senior Department officials and that is the norm across the Civil Service. The arrangements for service provision and in industrial relations more generally are not conducted through contact between unions and Ministers. When we write to the Minister, she always responds. It is not the case that we feel we are being ignored. The week-to-week and sometimes day-to-day contact is with senior officials from the Department of Education and Skills. On the issue of face masks, there is some confusion in respect of face coverings, which people wear to ensure they are not passing on anything to anyone else; and medical-grade face masks. They are very cheap but are designed to the protect the wearer and to ensure there is a good degree of protection against droplet and aerosol spread. One difficulty we have had with the Department is a reluctance on its part to issue clear advice. We issued the advice ourselves, based on what the HSE recommends for staff providing personal care, that is, washing and changing of residents in nursing homes, and for those providing care in domestic or home settings. It is very straightforward, namely, wear a face mask and wear a visor to protect one's eyes from splashes. There are specific requirements around waste disposal. If one has been washing or changing someone, any waste materials need to be bagged for 72 hours before they are put into general waste. These are all common-sense, straightforward non-cost increasing issues. We have found the Department to be very reluctant to address what one might call the specifics of providing care to students who have hygiene needs. As regards PPE, maybe the term "PPE" is a bit frightening or disconcerting for some in the school sector but it is the basic provision of a face mask, gloves and an apron. When people are being told to buy such equipment themselves or that the Department of Education and Skills guidance states that schools may wish to consider if they wish to provide this equipment for staff, we then have to say that the duty of care is not being maintained. They can do a lot better than this. We met the Department yesterday on this-----