Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What issues are principals and staff close to the Border finding compared with schools on the northern side of the Border?

I was quite surprised at Mr. Gillespie's proposal in recent days about the school holidays. I am not sure if he or another TUI representative appeared on the "Today with Claire Byrne" show yesterday. I got calls from a number of nurses afterwards. They were horrified about what was said about teachers being required to wear masks. I absolutely agree that they must wear masks; that is the way it is. Doctors and nurses are wearing masks from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., in addition to full PPE gear. I imagine other public sector workers were also horrified. I had calls from teachers, including TUI members, saying they were not looking for such a change in the school holidays. Where did that proposal come from? I ask the other teacher organisations to comment on that. I should not put one against the other but I would be interested in their views on it.

I have a question on the senior DEIS schools for Mr. Boyle. I understand the Minister will make an announcement imminently on further DEIS roll-out. The Minister signalled a further announcement after the budget. I asked the same question of her here the other day because senior DEIS schools, junior DEIS schools and other DEIS schools felt totally left behind. What proposals are coming from the Department and has the INTO had any input into that?

I also asked the Minister about large primary schools with 600, 700 or 800 pupils, which normally have a principal and one deputy principal. However, a secondary school with 500 or 600 pupils could have a principal and two or three deputy principals. This issue will require some work. I asked the Minister to look at this area, which I feel is very unfair. My constituency has some very large primary schools, including one of the largest, St. Aidan's in Enniscorthy. The principal there has an enormous job to do with very little backup. I compliment the people who back him up. However, a secondary school with such large numbers would have multiple deputy principals. I ask the witnesses to comment on that.

I ask Mr. Pike about the availability of PPE for Fórsa members. HSE facilities, including nursing homes, have a week's, two weeks' or a month's supply of PPE. What forward supply do Fórsa members have? Will there be challenges in January when schools come back after Christmas, particularly if there is an outbreak of flu, which hopefully will not happen?

Considering the work done by the HSE and public health bodies on the reopening of schools, what lessons does Mr. Christie believe have been learned? Are ASTI members doing their work in a more streamlined way now compared with September?

I compliment the principals, teachers and boards of management in all the schools. They have done a fantastic job and the country should be proud of them. Teachers have gone up in my estimation because of the work they have done. Having been off since the outbreak of Covid in March, they all wanted to get back to work. Over the summer months great work was done by principals, staff and members of boards of management, who are often forgotten about and hold significant responsibility.

Maybe if he answers those questions, I will come back to him. Apologies to Mr. Gillespie-----