Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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First, I wish to acknowledge once again the enormous work undertaken by all school staff to ensure that schools reopened and that education resumed in the best possible manner, which is in the classroom. However, it is important to note that a great deal more must be done to ensure schools can be safe for school staff and students. For that reason, I and a number of colleagues asked that this be one of the first issues addressed by this committee.

I have a question for the representative of each union and organisation. The selection of the union is probably partially arbitrary because my questions could apply to anyone. My first question is for the TUI and relates to ventilation. Ventilation has been raised with me in discussions with parents and principals. We know it is increasingly prominent in the discussions about the science of this. Many older schools, built in the 1950s and 1960s, have few options when it comes to ventilation apart from open doors and windows. That creates difficulties for schools, with hard decisions about asking children to come to school wearing clothing for sitting next to windows, rotation and the like. That is difficult for schools. Does Mr. Gillespie believe that the Department must bring forward more guidance on this, since I believe there is a shortage of guidance, as well as dedicated funding for schools that are struggling with ventilation?

My second question is for the INTO representative, and it follows up on the question raised by Deputy O'Sullivan. The school-specific tracing teams that were recently established are a good idea, but they have to work to correct and realistic criteria and they must have resources and be deployed in the right way. In my experience, many school staff and parents have been mystified by some of the decisions on who is and is not a close contact. I have encountered this in my community and across the State. There was a good article in yesterday's edition of The Irish Timeshighlighting that. While the desire to minimise disruption to a school is obviously good, I am concerned that sometimes decisions can be made whereby if it is not dealt with decisively, one could extend the lifetime of the virus in a school and the number of children or school staff affected. We must deal with that.

My final two questions are for the ASTI and Fórsa. One of the issues in the ballot for industrial action relates to high-risk staff. Many people have found Medmark to be a blunt instrument. Is the ASTI in any way reassured with the progress being made for high-risk staff? It sounded from the statement that it is not. Many people are concerned and very few people in the appeals process succeed in having that revised. That must be revisited and requires a more tailored approach. With regard to Fórsa and its point about medical-grade masks, I agree with its analysis. There is a misunderstanding of the role and the proximity of SNAs in respect of students. I do not believe there is a realistic understanding of the role of the SNA in that regard, and that must continue to be highlighted.