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

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It has been mentioned to me on a number of occasions. It is a case of getting the balance right between ventilation and temperature control. No child should be in a classroom and having to wear an anorak and gloves because it is so cold. I know that some children do have to experience that, often because of prefabs and inadequate buildings, even though we have replaced many prefabs in recent years. Things can be taken to an extreme. If a classroom is so cold, because all the windows are open, that a child has to wear gloves and a coat, that is probably passing the point of reasonable balance. I know that it is difficult for teachers and school managers to make that judgment. We are asking them to make that judgment and to be sensible in getting that balance right. Clean air is really important as we live with Covid. As we prepare for the possibility of future pandemics and do more to keep viruses under control, it is going to become more important in terms of what we do with our buildings and public buildings, in particular. That does involve ventilation and air filtration. That is why grants are being provided to schools which can be used towards the purchase of air filters. Increasingly, when it comes to new buildings, it will be about the use of UV light in ventilation systems to kill all viruses, not just the Covid virus. It is something we will talk and hear a lot more about in the years to come.

There are grants available to schools to help with this issue. I appreciate that it can only go so far and that work can only be done so quickly. There is a sensible balance between air filtration, clean air and comfortable and tolerable temperatures in any classroom or workplace. It is important that we get that right. One thing that can be done, for example, is to air a room. My granny used to tell me how important it was to air a room. That does not necessarily mean that you have to leave the windows open for eight hours. It is important to try to get that balance right.

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