Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills
Engagement with Trade Unions on Keeping Schools Open: Discussion
Mr. Michael Gillespie:
On the ventilation and new designs, there is an opportunity here to improve ventilation and energy efficiency in schools, because the two can go hand in hand. Yes, that needs to be done and should be done. Smaller classes are also needed. We are in the middle of a pandemic. We do not know when the next pandemic will come. These viruses mutate and change all the time. This is a lesson learned. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh is right that we need to start reconceptualising and to be ready. It will not be done overnight but we do need to do that.