Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope it will not get worse. The return to schools has been successful - much more successful than many of the doomsayers said it would be - and cases are now stable or falling. Hopefully, it will get better and not worse, but we cannot assume that. We cannot take anything for granted in that regard.

I appreciate that children missing school is causing enormous disruption. Their parents then having to stay at home to look after them is causing disruption for them and at workplace level as well. In our engagements with NPHET and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, we will be asking for updated advice on this. They are looking at the issue of masks as well at present, and we would welcome that.

The advice at present is that a person who is a close contact and is fully vaccinated does not need to restrict his or her movements or isolate unless he or she has symptoms, but a person who is not vaccinated needs to do so. Of course, children under 12 do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated and therein lies the difficulty. We are consulting NPHET and the HPSC on the best way forward, but I ask the Deputy to-----

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