Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the state of Victoria, for example, took expert advice before investing heavily in ventilation in schools. We are constantly being asked by people why we are so different from our European counterparts when it comes to the rate of transmission of the virus.

We seem to be going from wave to wave and hoping it will not reoccur. The reality is that this is a substantial wave with 7,000 cases in the last two days and many children and their parents testing positive. I have no desire to get into a Punch and Judy act with the Minister on this but it seems self-evident that where a virus is transmitted by air, in congested environments such as schools the Government should take a longer term approach. This will not go away overnight. I acknowledge that the vaccination programme has been extraordinarily good but it will not be enough on its own.

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