Dr. Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain:

Ar an gcéad dul síos, we have definitely lost dancers, particularly some senior cycle students who have not been able to get to class. They already spend much time on Teams and Zoom calls so they do not want to do whatever other activities they may be able to do virtually. People between the ages of 15 and 17 are at a critical age, especially some girls who should be getting some sort of activity and are not getting that. All of our activity has been cancelled, such as our anniversary world championships. We understand that that needed to happen, but if pupils have nothing to focus on, with no focus to even get back into a class, then they drop off, so there has been a fall in numbers. While I do not want to denigrate hobbies, for people who want to pursue dance, it is more than a hobby. It is a way of life, a vocation and a professional practice. If one looks at the foot of a ballet dancer or a hard shoe dancer, it is physical, punishing and disciplined. People enjoy it but they are investing much into it and are not getting the opportunities to train for it. We are already seeing teachers with greatly reduced numbers since parents will send them to whatever activity is actually happening rather than have the whole house fight over the one computer or two iPads to try to get all of their children into classes. Ms Carberry may have more to say on that. We have implemented quite strict return-to-class protocols. If further recommendations come from this committee, we would be more than willing to take those on board, rather than a blanket ban on dancing without explanation.