Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In this and other areas the Government cedes to public health authorities because their expertise and advice point towards the best way of managing these matters for all concerned, including teachers, pupils and the wider public. That is where such issues have to be addressed and considered. The process includes a review and it is within that which I expect the Government will listen to the ASTI and others and make sure their concerns are addressed as best they can, subject to public health advice, which is the test that has to be applied.

On the investment in schools, be it in ventilation or in other mechanisms, my understanding of that funding of €375 million is that it was spent in a short period of time but that it was spent effectively. A lot of schools turned things around and did a remarkable job and it was often the school management and board, along with teachers and pupils, who were engaged with that. I understand that this funding allowed schools to put enhanced cleaning and hygiene arrangements in place, modify buildings and rooms to facilitate physical distancing, hire extra and replacement teachers and purchase PPE through a procurement framework. If there are gaps in that, I again suggest that the review process will allow those gaps to be filled. To date, there has been no reluctance from Government to fund the work that needed to be done to back up the public health advice with physical work on the ground to help protect all of the people involved.

See this speech in context