Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome the indemnification of teachers by the State in the context of this year's leaving certificate. Aontú has been calling for such indemnification for weeks and welcomes the good news in that regard. I would like the Minister to tell the Dáil what money has been set aside for the indemnification and whether it will come from the Department of Education and Skills.

My next question relates to concerns that still exist within the teaching community about the new leaving certificate system and its potential to be corrupted in the future. I must emphasise that I believe wholeheartedly that the vast majority of the stakeholders within the education system are going to see this new process through to the best of their ability and try to ensure that everybody gets fair marks. However, in every system human nature obviously plays a part and a minority of situations may lead to difficulties. I can foresee whistleblowers coming forward with information on such difficulties in the future. It has already been reported to me that some principals and boards of management have sought to elevate grades. Further, it has also been reported to me that some parents and students have sought to elevate grades. The latter will be very difficult to deal with in small towns and villages across the country. I am also conscious that a negative relationship between a teacher and student may result in lower grades for that student. It has been reported to me that a teacher who was giving paid grinds to the students of another teacher's leaving certificate class openly attended an alignment meeting and commented on the students' grades. What can we do to make sure that this does not happen in the future? I have been told of schools insisting that teachers attend meetings with colleagues in person even though departmental documentation states that such work can be done remotely. Younger teachers and those in need of contracts of indefinite duration hours for next year may be put under pressure to be compliant.

I reiterate that these allegations refer to a minority of cases and I acknowledge that most of the stakeholders in the system are going to do their job to the best of their ability and to the highest level possible. However, the Minister has embarked upon this marking system and has ignored the requests of the unions to rely on more concrete aspects of the education system, including summer and Christmas exam results and the results of mock exams. What is in place in the process to prevent these problems from arising or to address them as they arise? Given the fact that we are likely to be living with this virus not just for this year but also next year, is the Government working on a system other than the ad hocone we have currently, that will give more reliability and stability to teachers, parents and students?

The second issue I wish to raise with the Minister is the fact that teachers and parents are none the wiser with regard to the reopening of schools in late August or early September. The media is awash with speculation but there is precious little detail and this is causing massive stress for parents. We are hearing about pods of four, tapered classes and courses and partial openings, with some children remaining at home while others attend school. If the brand new schools in my constituency use the 2 m social distancing rule then at most, this will allow for about ten students per classroom but most of the classrooms in my constituency would not come near to that level of space.

Indeed, there are heaps of schools right across all constituencies that have been waiting for years for additions to their school premises so that they can properly facilitate the students who are already there under the old regime. Will the Minister provide proper clarity with regard to this? The uncertainty from the Department is really strange given that the WHO has actually said that Ireland already meets the criteria for schools to go back now. The Taoiseach is on record as saying that the schools are among the lowest-risk categories in society for Covid-19. In an effort to stop this constant speculation, will the Minister provide concrete clarity and clear up the confusion?

I have a question about children with special needs and the July provision. I know the Minister has answered some of the questions so I will not go over them. Obviously, children with special needs and their parents have been particularly badly hit by the lockdown and the cancellation of education. Children with special needs do far better with structure and when they have regular engagement with a highly trained professional educator. We have seen in news reports and elsewhere how parents are really struggling with the pressure of minding and educating their children 24-7. We have seen children with complex needs suffer greatly from the lack of education so they are radically disadvantaged, more so probably than any other category of schoolchild. Will the Minister see to it that education starts now for children with complex special needs and will he guarantee the return of the July provision? I know he said that he is looking at it. I have been here for ten years and words like "endeavouring to do" and "looking at" often hide the fact that there are no concrete plans and decisions have not been made so what I am looking for is a guarantee to be sent out now to the parents of these 10,000 children that some educational structure will come into the lives of these children.

It is really important that Departments and Ministers make decisions with all of the facts that have been given to them. What research has been done by his Department on the cost in educational terms to students of what has happened? Could he refer specifically to at-risk students because we know that the school system is a great space for at-risk students to have some level of monitoring to make sure they are safe? What are the financial costs to the State?

A university for the north west is obviously of massive interest to the Minister. People in Derry are looking for it as well. We know that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael mentioned it in their manifestos. Negotiations are ongoing. Will it appear in the programme for Government?

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