Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State in the House and indeed all of the Ministers working in the Department of Health at the moment and their officials for dealing with all the ongoing challenges. The work that is needed is acknowledged not just by me in this House but by the public as well, so I acknowledge that at the outset. I am also conscious of the fact that with language being used this evening in terms of contact tracing, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task and by the magnitude and scale of the challenges as well.

I put down this question on the back of difficulties expressed to me yesterday morning and over the previous weekend by some school principals. The reason they contacted me was there were communication difficulties in dealing with cases that they were alerted to them on a Friday evening and then going through the process over the weekend. The issue could be summed up in a nutshell by saying it concerns the communication, point of contact, direction and protocol for contact tracing. Since putting down this question yesterday, I am delighted to see that there has been considerable progress made over the past day. The primary level stakeholders and the secondary level stakeholders met with NPHET today as well, and that is really necessary to instil confidence in the leadership within the school communities, because we all know, appreciate and certainly know the value of children and teenagers being back in the school system. Teachers have been very closely monitoring their progress since schools have come back. Parents have noticed progression where regression happened when pupils were absent from school for up to about six months, and it is important we hold on to that progress.

To summarise, what I am raising is something that has already been enacted by the people concerned. I am very well aware of demands on the system and the contact tracing system, but it is really important and incumbent on all of us to ensure whatever resources and strengthening of the existing system that can be done should be done. That focus, especially with the participation of NPHET officials at the stakeholders meeting, was a positive step forward today.

I acknowledge the role played by officials within the Department of Education and Skills. They have been liaising quite closely with Department of Health officials for a long time, going back to last March and there is constant communication and constant engagement in ensuring that they try to get things right. I know from my own communication with them and from my own relationship with them in my previous role that the different officials work morning, noon and night to try to get this challenge under control. We are all on the same hymn sheet, whether it is parents, teachers or principals, to ensure the progress that has been made in having children and teenagers back in school stays on track to ensure we continue with the primary motivation of educating our young people.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for putting down the question and giving us an opportunity to clarify it on the floor of the House. Communication is key on this. It is key for the principals, the parents and most importantly for the continuity of children attending schools. I am going to read out the script as it was prepared for me because the clarification points are very important. Before I begin, however, it is important to say all officials in both Departments are working tirelessly together to ensure anything that needs to be done is being done to ensure education can continue.

I am happy to have this opportunity to outline the protocols and supports in place for schools and briefly describe the overarching public health principles, including case investigation and risk assessment, that govern the response to cases and outbreaks of Covid-19, which are consistently applied across all school settings. In all schools with a suspected case of Covid-19, HSE public health will undertake a risk assessment to assess the unique risks in each situation and decide on appropriate, proportionate action to protect the health of students, staff and the wider community. It is important to note that these actions will vary in different schools. This is because every school is unique, with unique risks related to the spread of Covid, so different measures are required to manage outbreaks in different schools. This is entirely appropriate and is a core tenet of public health management of outbreaks of notifiable infectious diseases, including Covid-19. The public health risk assessment, PHRA, approach is described in the Schools Pathway for Covid-19: the Public Health approach, available on the Back to School web page.

Risk assessment is carried out under the jurisdiction of the public health doctor at the relevant regional HSE department of public health. Public health doctors are expert in risk assessment. As outlined, because every school setting is unique, the risk of Covid transmission will vary on a case-by-case basis. The risk assessment process for each outbreak in a school setting assesses a variety of context-specific factors to determine appropriate and proportionate measures to be taken to protect the children and staff in the school and to prevent onward transmission and protect public health. For example, if a confirmed case of Covid-19 with links to a school is identified, HSE public health will undertake case investigation to determine whether the person has been in the school during the infectious period. If he or she has been in school during the infectious period, HSE public health will undertake contact tracing and risk assessment. This may result in a whole pod or class being excluded and tested for Covid-19 if they are deemed to be close contacts. When public health departments are formally informed of a person with Covid-19 who attended an educational facility whilst infectious, they then undertake a PHRA. This usually happens the same day, or the following day. There has been a delay in one particular region which the HSE is working to address urgently.

The public health medical service is available seven days a week, and contact with schools is made on this basis. The risk assessment is dynamic and is evolving as more information becomes available. For example, if contact tracing identifies additional confirmed cases that are widespread throughout the school and HSE public health suspect transmission in the school setting, this may contribute to a decision to close a facility partially or fully as an outbreak control measure. However, if, following case investigation or risk assessment, it is determined there is no risk of transmission in the school setting, HSE public health may advise that further testing in the school is not required.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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That was a comprehensive answer and it is good to see the response included upfront honesty on where challenges exist. In one particular area, the Department and HSE are working to deal with ongoing issues. It is important that we continue to be transparent. Information is key. Re-emphasising the seven-day week availability to principals will be very important in the days ahead. The intense feeling among primary and secondary principals and teachers, as the Minister of State knows, is they want to continue teaching. They see the progress and they want to be in a position to lead on the educational front and take a responsible position to lead on the health and safety front. They have dual responsibility. Following the meeting today and the comprehensive nature of the answer, I hope progress will be made.

Many people have varied opinions on what happened last night. As the evenings get shorter it will be a different lockdown at a different time from the lockdown in March when the sun was in the sky and the evenings were longer. Now the evenings are getting shorter. With regard to the 5 km rule, many people, and not just the elderly, go for walks in the evening. People in rural Ireland could be living ten miles from lights or from a town or village. We have to have due consideration for people who want to walk on a footpath in a safe area. We do not want people endangering their lives or putting their safety in jeopardy. We need to have closer scrutiny of this.

There is much conversation about the GAA. The GAA has always been here in the darkest of days when the country has been in the most difficult of times. It was there for the school meals programme at a voluntary level when I was in my previous role. Now that the evenings are short and people are in their houses, they have something to look forward to, whether it is intercounty football, hurling or camogie. It is something on which we should work hard. It is not a glamorous job for these GAA athletes. They are not getting on buses. They get changed at home and they go to training in their own cars and vehicles. It is a difficult time for them but they are providing a ray of hope for so many people in the country.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I will only take a minute to respond so we will keep on track with time. I could not agree more with everything the Deputy has said. Language is also important. The Deputy has covered everything, but how we communicate to people at present and how we use our language so as not be too alarming is also important. There is a lot of anxiety and stress. There is stress and pressure on the principals, teaching staff, parents and young people. Most importantly, we need to be calm and measured in our approach, response and asks. This is what the Deputy has articulated.

I want to place on the record an important piece of information to do with contact tracing. A process is in operation to support all ongoing school testing. As of 13 October, 364 schools had, or were having, testing completed as a consequence of a public health risk assessment. Of the 364 schools that have had mass tests, an additional 172 cases were detected and identified and 8,606 students and teachers have been involved in this mass testing. The testing and tracing system is working and demands on the system are being met by increased resources being applied by the HSE. The testing and tracing is operating seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.