Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies who have raised the situation of fifth years. We have had individual contact from some of those students. We need to ensure we give whatever support we can to the class of 2021 because of their lost class time and their return in September with all the challenges ahead of us. We will prioritise them and put support systems in place to ensure that whatever time or parts of the curriculum they have lost, we work with them to make up what was lost. The detail of that is not a finished piece because we have to decide what schools will look like collectively. We are not yet in a position to do that, but I know from my contact and communication with the stakeholders that it is a piece of work we will continue to focus on.

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