Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Respectfully, the last time I took Oral Questions in the House the Deputy was asking me to increase on-site attendance and I shared that view with her. I said to her then what I will say now, albeit in a different context. Everything must be done in the context of public health and the framework we have agreed with all stakeholders, including students, their union and, crucially, the Chief Medical Officer.

The return to on-campus education has gone very well, although it has not been a straight road without hiccups. I spoke with students in Maynooth last night and they want consistency and clarity about what is happening with the exams in their institution. I believe, as a result of our stakeholder meeting on 19 November, there is now an understanding in the approach being taken. The Deputy has made me aware of individual examples and I am very happy to follow up on them. However, the approach we are taking is that what is safe to carry out on-site and in person will continue, with accommodation and flexibility being shown to students for whom it is not possible to partake in on-campus activity. The Deputy is correct that different institutions will act differently in this scenario, which is okay or right because they must risk assess their own campuses, as they have done with lecture theatres etc. since the recommencement of on-campus activity in September.

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