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

I will begin by expressing my deep gratitude for the work undertaken by the school education community, from school leaders and principals to teachers, SNAs and school secretaries. The work undertaken since the beginning of the pandemic has been nothing short of heroic. That should be acknowledged and it is lamentable that it has not been captured or highlighted in much of the public commentary to date.

I will list some of my questions and, hopefully, give the witnesses enough time to answer them. One of the most important aspects of the return to school is the morale of our school community. Any threats to that should be tackled immediately. One such threat is the issue that has emerged over the past couple of weeks related to the leaving certificate, namely, that the school rankings given out by the secondary school teachers will now be revealed to the students. I was not aware that was going to take place when it was announced in April. When did the secondary school unions become aware of that and what is the view of their members?

How has this frustration been related back to the Department? Is it something we can address before it becomes a bigger issue next week?

I have a question for Mr. Andy Pike on guidelines for SNAs and potential further supports for SNAs as we move forward in the Dáil term. I want to ask about the vagueness of the guidelines. I also want to touch on the use of face masks. The guidance for primary schools and special schools on PPE and the use of face masks by staff states that schools should consider the specific circumstances where the use of medical face masks may be more appropriate for staff, for example, where staff such as SNAs or school bus escorts need to be in close and continued proximity to students with intimate care needs. Is the vagueness of these guidelines a problem? If the guidelines simply stated that staff should wear the appropriate medical mask would it alleviate some of the arbitrary decisions that have been taken from school to school, which are placing many SNAs at greater risk?

Medmark has already been discussed but if there are outstanding issues the unions feel need to be clarified I ask them to feel free to take some of my time to do so. There are outstanding issues. Is there anything Medmark needs to change or adapt in its algorithm, particularly with regard to the newly announced review system?

I have a question specifically for the witnesses from the TUI. Their submitted document states that students with special educational needs and those from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot be forgotten or left behind and that customised interventions and supports may be required to reintegrate them into school. Will the TUI witnesses speak a little about what exactly is meant by customised supports and innovations?

One of the stand-out parts of the ASTI presentation was that it is regrettable that those effectively making decisions on these matters refuse to meet representatives of those directly affected by them. That is an absolute shame. It is a travesty and should not be happening. Will the witnesses give voice to how these meetings have been requested and what the tangible implications are for ASTI members when they are rejected?