Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that some of the questions in my statement may be addressed in the guidelines that are being issued tomorrow and so I cannot understand why we did not get them in advance. This was also a frustrating aspect of the July and summer provision that was announced last Friday week, in that we had a debate on the Wednesday on the July and summer provision and then the announcement was made on a Friday. I am new to this House but it seems nonsensical to me that we cannot scrutinise these decisions in advance.

In the early days of the pandemic, the mantra that we clung to was that speed trumped perfection. It was a powerful and appropriate message that issued from our own Dr. Michael Ryan in his capacity as the chief executive of the World Health Organization. It was a message that was quickly appropriated by the Government to deflect criticism where actions taken during the pandemic did not meet the standards that were required, be that in testing capacity, in confused messaging around the necessity of PPE or the exclusion of women returning from maternity leave from accessing the temporary wage scheme. We were told that "Speed trumps perfection" and amidst a global pandemic and national crisis, we all attempted to engage constructively and accepted that to be a reasonable justification.

How do I apply that same standard to the Department of Education and Skills, when once again I sit here in this Chamber, in late June, with absolutely no guidance in my hand about what education will look like once the doors open, be that in a couple of weeks' time for the summer provision or else in late August? Decisions taken by the Department to date, enormous as they have been, have been painfully slow. They have contributed to increased anxiety for students and parents. According to the educators and professionals in that sector, which I worked in, it is a consequence of an element of disrespect being shown to the sector. When we talked about closing the schools, we had all the gossip that happened before that. When we talked about cancelling the leaving certificate, every dog on the street knew it was going to be cancelled before it was announced and yet the decision had still not been made at that point. I am conscious that I have ten minutes here to ask questions and receive answers that could bring some degree of clarity to the issue but such is the confusion that reigns in schools about how they should reopen, I do not believe I could achieve that even if the Minister and I had the whole afternoon together. It is absolutely ludicrous that the level of detail that has been provided by the Government is such that I can visualise exactly how pubs are going to open next week and the three weeks after that. I know about the necessity for a €9 meal; I know about the social distancing guidelines. I did not learn that by osmosis, I learned that because those sectoral interest groups had the ear of the Government, whereas schools that are due to reopen are still crying out for information. Maybe it will emerge tomorrow but this has not been the case so far.

I want the Minister to paint me a picture, if possible, of what schools will look like in September and I will approach that by visualising myself walking through a school. Let us imagine any secondary school be it in Dublin, in the Minister's constituency or that of any other Deputy. I imagine walking up to the door of that school in September. Who is going to meet me upon my arrival at that school to ensure that I have disinfected my hands? Will it be the secretary or the deputy principal? If it is to be secretaries, as they have been accessing their own industrial relations mechanisms last year, that might bring up issues. If it is to be the deputy principals, there has been a significant problem with the hours allocated to them. Are we expecting them to spend eight hours every morning - when some schools only have eight hours of deputy principal time - ensuring children disinfect their hands? I was going to ask the Minister where exactly the sanitiser was coming from but I welcome that fact that he has already brought some degree of clarity to that.

As I walk down the corridors, what instructions have been given to the students that I meet along the way? Will instructions be given to them before they start in September as to whether it is a one-way system or whether some students who are immunocompromised might need to have PPE and who precisely will provide that to students who may need it? Some would argue all students will need it but those who are themselves immunocompromised or whose family members at home are immunocompromised certainly will need it. Will that responsibility fall on the school, the Department or the student's family?

As I walk into the classroom, I am very conscious of what it will look like. In particular, will teachers and SNAs be required to wear PPE? The Minister has suggested this will not be the case but I do not know how we can make that determination now, particularly if the virus were to re-emerge over the next couple of months. It has been said that we may not need access to that much PPE but I do not accept that. If a teacher or SNA is immunocompromised, surely they should have as much PPE as they need. I am conscious also of the role of the SNA in the classroom. In any classroom I have been in, SNAs sit really close to their students, they whisper constantly to them. Will instructions be given to SNAs about the proximity at which they can engage with their students? In my experience, it is a very close proximity. However, as some of those students may themselves be in difficulty or have challenges related to their immune systems, what guidelines will be in place?

Furthermore, how many students are even going to be in the classroom? I was appalled over the weekend - I hope it was not another kite being flown - when a statement from the ESRI suggested that we might have to stagger classroom times, that perhaps there will only be half of the students in a class. I absolutely hope that that is not going to be the case. If it is however, where does the Department expect the rest of the students to be? I hope the answer to that is not that they will be at home because if so, it will have a devastating impact on families generally but particularly on those most vulnerable who will be expected to leave their jobs to provide care. I am thinking especially of one-parent families, the vast majority of whom are women at the greatest risk of poverty and deprivation. The Department has a responsibility to provide education and we simply cannot abdicate it. I am in no way suggesting that the Minister has done so but I wanted to reaffirm that statement.

If I leave the classroom and walk to the staffroom, what measures and advice will I find on the noticeboard there? Education is always a challenge emotionally for teachers who must deal with young people experiencing the various different anxieties that come with being a young person. In the age of this pandemic, however, young people have had to be in their rooms or have not had exercise, or have had challenges with their living environment.

We are facing a wave of emotion and teachers will be on the front line of it. Friends of mine and others I have spoken to who are teachers are genuinely concerned about being burned out by Christmas from having to deal with that. It is a challenge that they are willing to accept but it should not be one that we force on them. What supports will be offered to teachers, particularly mental health supports? There are also practical questions, for example, with regard to cleaning staff in schools. I note that the report yesterday stated that teachers will be expected to clean their own cups, which is fine. Most teachers do that anyway. Who will clean the canteens? Most schools have cleaning staff for two hours a day. We will need many more than that. Will the Department hire more cleaners to help teachers? Where the virus may re-emerge, it would make sense for the Department to take on more contingency staff in the event that teachers have to cocoon or remove themselves if they are sick. Will we hire more staff to step in and fill those gaps?

The class of 2021 has been discussed on various occasions. I do not think it will be possible for the class of 2021 to sit the traditional leaving certificate examination, as has happened previously. We need a quick decision to be made about that. Students should not go back to school in September still whispering about what examination will be taken. Let us avoid that. I know the Minister said that people are working on it, which is great. When does he anticipate getting some clarity on that? Will it be before September? I know I asked many questions and there is no expectation that the Minister will answer them all, but if he could let us know that some clarity will be forthcoming, I would be grateful.

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