Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to get into a big argument with the Minister about the conditions in schools but, suffice to say that in Germany, for example, they are providing CO2 monitors in every classroom yet we are barely purchasing them here. I have a friend who is a teacher with a condition that makes her vulnerable and she begged her principal to allow her to teach from home because she feared going back to school. She went back to school and she has been flat on her back with Covid for 30 days. The reality is that no matter what the Minister says, Covid is being transmitted in schools.

I wish to quote Dr. Ronan Glynn, the assistant CMO, who recently told the Ombudsman for Children, in regard to Jan Rynne, that in exceptional circumstances school supports should be provided by the Department to allow children to remain at home. She is just an example. I do not want the whole focus to be on Jan, but she is an important example. The Minister keeps talking about public health advice and how closely she follows it. There is a specific piece of advice. Will she follow it, and will she provide in very exceptional circumstances home supports for children to learn at home? Like I said, it is not going to break the bank. It is a very limited request and it is increasingly applying to fewer and fewer families but, nevertheless, the need remains.

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