Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for attending. I reiterate the point other members made, namely, that the country is very appreciative of the efforts of schools boards, teachers, managers and the unions in trying to get the schools reopened. Now that they are reopening, it is absolutely vital that we do everything possible to try to keep them open and functioning.

I wish to bring up a point that came up between the INTO and Fórsa. The INTO thanked the Department for its actions to date and stated that its members have adequate PPE, while Fórsa has highlighted that it feels its members do not. Perhaps we are talking about teacher groupings versus non-teacher groupings. Fórsa also mentioned the idea of medical masks for looking after children in intimate settings and so on. Could we get a clear distinction here? Is there a united front that could be agreed whereby we could say that the secondary school teachers at least feel they have adequate PPE and then, perhaps, isolate the fact that Fórsa may feel its members need to be treated differently or that the case it is putting forward must be highlighted? Could anybody shed some light on that matter?