Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The management of this crisis has been enormously difficult for the Minister, the Department and teachers and parents around the country. It is probably one of the biggest impacts that has been experienced by many people. I have no doubt the cost of the closure of schools will continue for years to come as a result of the lack of education and socialisation and due to the mental health issues that have been created among this generation of schoolchildren.

It has been indicated the leaving certificate examination is likely to change in structure this year, but the structure remains very nebulous for many. Parents and students have been contacting me to ask what the story is with the structure of the leaving certificate. They want to know if the Minister will give details so that parents, students and teachers can get their heads around how to prepare for the examination. As far as I understand, there are no details about the music examinations that are to be held during the Easter holidays and what exactly they will entail.

The Easter holidays are just around the corner for students.

Practical examinations in geography are another outstanding issue that students do not yet have their heads around. These issues are up in the air for students and, as a result, students are not able to focus their energy on proper study for these subjects.

I want to speak about the Irish language. There have been reports to say that the oral element of the Irish language will be reduced in content. As seo amach, ní bheidh an méid marcanna céanna ag dul don Ghaeilge mar gheall ar an teastas iomlán agus is botún mór é sin. Tá go leor scoláirí ag críochnú ar scoil bliain i ndiaidh bliana sa Stát seo agus tá siad in ann scríobh agus léamh na Gaeilge, ach níl siad in ann í a labhairt. An rud is tábhachtaí d’aon scoláire teanga atá ann ná cumas labhartha agus níl sé ann anois. Ba cheart go mbeadh níos mó marcanna ag dul don scrúdú béil sa Ghaeilge.

Will the Minister give some detail to the 20,000 students with additional needs who have not been able to return to school, from third class upwards? It is bizarre and shocking that we do not have these children back in school. That needs to change. These are the children who most need to return to education. I understand that no detail of dates has been given about that. My instinct is that tens of thousands of students will not return until after Easter. They will have been off school from 20 December until after Easter and they will return for just a few weeks after Easter. That will have an outstanding cost to them in the future.

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