Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is indeed. There are moments that are watersheds in all our lives, and completing primary school and secondary school are two of those moments. I still remember the days I left St. Martin's national school and Rathcoole community college. Many people cherish those moments. One of the most important aspects of education is the social one, and that is why. Students learn to make deep and meaningful friendships while spending years in the company of their classmates. It is always difficult to leave those bonds behind when classes disband at the end of sixth class and sixth year. It is even more difficult now.

The class of 2020 is deprived of the usual rites of passage. They will have no final day at school, no debs and no graduation. Sixth class students have spent eight of the 12 years of their lives - two-thirds of their lives - with their classmates. Sixth year students have spent six of the 17 years of their lives - over a third of their lives - with their current classmates. We already know that the lockdown is hurting our children and teenagers.

Anxiety levels and depression have gone through the roof. Right now, their support structure and social network are being pulled from under them. This is especially so for sixth class and sixth year students. Graduation is an occasion that deserves to be marked. It is an occasion that children in Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Newcastle, Rathcoole and other places across the country want marked. It is an occasions their parents want marked. Will the Minister ensure that a graduation ceremony takes place for every sixth year and sixth class student when this crisis has passed?

I am also mindful of the pressures that families of children with special needs are under. Many parents are struggling to create new routines amid this crisis. Is the Minister planning any support for children with special needs between now and their return to school? It would be of significant benefit to these children and their families.

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