Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Significant supports have been provided to schools with additional hours - class hours specifically - for schools to distribute as they saw fit. The emphasis was on reintegrating children into the school system, supporting schools in what they felt would meet the needs of students. In excess of €52 million was expended in that respect. For some, it was additional to teaching hours, for others it was for creative arts or whatever the school deemed necessary. There has been a definite acknowledgement of the need for those supports, particularly, as the Deputy said, in the framework of Covid-19.