Dr. Ronan Glynn:

I assume that is a question for me. The CMO's position on this, as my own, has been articulated on a number of occasions. I refer the Deputy and others, as I have done previously, to our letter of 5 January. I will read out again what we said because our advice has not changed:

...while the experience from September to December 2020 has clearly demonstrated that schools are in themselves a safe environment, the current epidemiological situation has deteriorated to a point where the significant levels of mobility and linked activity that the full reopening of schools would generate, constitutes a very significant additional risk in the context of what are already unprecedented levels of disease transmission in the community.

In that letter we also pointed out that measures should be taken to limit the impact on the healthcare workforce and that specific measures be taken to ensure that more vulnerable children can be best supported over these weeks.