Mr. Kieran Christie:

Picking up on the questions asked by the Chair, he mentioned the Border counties and asked if there were issues specific to them regarding the running of schools. We were hearing that there were, and there have been, particularly given the differences in restrictions across the Border, in areas such as Donegal, Derry and Cavan and Monaghan, and they did lead to some confusion, but ultimately the procedures in place in schools were followed. What could be controlled within a school was controlled in terms of our own restrictions down here.

On the issue raised by the Chair regarding school closure on 18 December, the position of the ASTI on that and on similar questions throughout the pandemic has been consistent, which is that we will be guided by the public health advice around all of these questions.

The Chair also asked about lessons learned on public health. If I were to identify one - and I mentioned it earlier in my presentation, so I will not labour the point - it concerns communication, particularly around close contacts in schools, how close contacts are identified, and that the same procedures are applied in schools as are applied in supermarkets, garages or any other workplaces.

Finally, we share the sentiments of the Chair in respect of principals, teachers and school boards of management around the country. When the history of this period comes to be written, education will have been seen to have stepped up to the plate.