Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the reopening of schools after such a long absence. I hope they can be kept open even though they are going to be facing many challenges in the coming weeks. I thank the principals and staff for being proactive in recent weeks in the reopening of our schools. The concerns of teachers who are in a high-risk category must be heard. This morning, The Irish Times reported that almost 650 teachers who have been assessed to be high risk have been told that they must go back to school. This seems an extraordinary move by Medmark. I believe there has been some movement on this but it will be totally unacceptable if teachers are forced back into a classroom where they do not feel safe. Many parents who are categorised as high risk share similar concerns. They are worried about the risk of their children attending school. I ask the Minister to seek that Tusla clarify the 20 day absence rule and that some common sense is used in allowing flexibility in these uncertain times.

The issue of class sizes has been raised a lot. It is important to highlight the impact of decades of under-funding which is leading to some of our children being crammed into tight spaces where social distancing is not an option. Student-teacher ratios here are among the highest in Europe and this is a measure of how the failure to fund our schools has had a negative effect. The lack of isolation spaces in schools is not good enough. The Department of Education and Skills needs to support schools in identifying appropriate spaces where children can isolate. Schools in my constituency contacted me last week because they had no supply panel in place for Dublin 17. This has since been sorted but it speaks to how the concerns of many schools have not been addressed by the Department in recent weeks. Communication has not been great and this needs to change if our schools are to be kept open. Rapid testing must be prioritised for students and staff who present with symptoms. I ask the Minister to make a commitment to introduce rapid testing as a matter of urgency.

As elected representatives, it is vital that we all look at the weeks ahead and present a united front, that Opposition spokespeople who have concerns are listened to and that their proposals will also be heard. I really believe it is important that Deputies across this House are kept up-to-date on any developments.

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