Mr. John Boyle:

As Deputy Ó Laoghaire is aware, we looked for a public awareness campaign at the beginning of the Hallowe'en break so that if there were any uncertainties when people came back, everybody in the system would be clear on this. Unfortunately, we did not get that, although we have got it since. We have three videos by Dr. Abigail Collins one for staff, one for parents and one for principals but they were not communicated widely. The videos were there for a number of days before they hit the schools, so there are time lags.

The biggest concern was that people were getting confused between close contacts, positive cases and who should be going where. There is a lot to take in when there are 1 million people circulating in the school sector. We are happy enough that guidance is being provided but the key question is whether it is being applied consistently and whether everyone is receiving it.

On the issue of travel, I certainly hope that no family that travels abroad during Christmas is under the impression that they can send their child back to school the day after they set foot on this island. That is why we need more public awareness around this issue.