Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As my speaking time is limited, I would be grateful if my questions could be responded to in writing. A few short weeks ago, before I was elected to this House, I was a primary school teacher teaching a class of 33 fourth class pupils in Parteen national school, County Clare - I am still in the habit of using the old red pen. When these pupils return to school in September, social distancing as we know it - that is, two metres apart - will be very difficult or virtually impossible to implement. Two metres of separation does not work in an environment where pupils sit elbow to elbow, pencil case to pencil case. I would like to know what measures the Department is taking to ensure that best health and safety practices will be in place in primary school classrooms and school playgrounds in time for a September re-opening. Will additional accommodation be required in some instances? As is the case in other EU countries, will the Department give consideration to laying down some stone or hard-core to extend play areas so children can stay a little apart while getting back closer together as friends and classmates?

My second question relates to the much anticipated re-opening of schools in September. Principals and boards of management throughout my county, including at Realt na Mara in Kilkee, have been asking me when the Department will furnish them with guideline documents outlining how pupils and staff can safely return. I believe this guidance documentation would have to make it very clear how many children could be in a classroom at the same time and how this would work in classrooms of varying square meterage.

In Ireland we have a pupil-teacher ratio of 26:1. Maybe now is the time to consider reducing this ratio and making it more favourable and more in line with the EU average of 20:1. An analysis of data recently published by the Department indicated that just under 20% of Irish primary school children are in classrooms that could be considered to be overcrowded. In my home county of Clare, 32 schools have more than 30 children in a class at any given time. I implore the Minister on an emergency basis to hire additional temporary staff to allow schools to do this so we can reduce the pupil-teacher ratio.

The Minister mentioned July provision. I will not dwell on it but I ask the Minister to extend it to August. The children for whom July provision caters have been without mainstay education for a number of months and it would make sense to extend the programme. We can call it July-August provision and give it a longer run in the summer so the children are supported.

The next issue I wish to raise is third level accommodation. Third level campuses such as the University of Limerick have yet to refund families, who are very financially pressed at this time. I ask the Minister to intervene in this. A scheme needs to be devised to enable people to retrieve their property from university campus accommodation.

I pay tribute to some of those teachers who have been outstanding in reaching out through social media to their pupils. Siobhán Barry runs a Twitter page for Parteen national school, Darryl Eade and his colleagues at the Holy Family school in Ennis have set up a little TV station and Cratloe national school has taken to Zoom to do dancing and sing songs for those in the local nursing homes. Their work is fabulous and it needs to be commended by the House and the Minister.

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