Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment, which is an enormous achievement. I am sure everybody in the House wishes her well. Many of the speakers have commented on secondary schools so I will focus on primary schools. I have three or four points and a couple of questions.

Supply teaching panels have been announced for the primary sector but how many teachers are likely to be employed on each panel? There is a major focus on secondary schools, which is welcome, but I want to ensure primary schools are covered accordingly. May each primary school appoint a Covid aide for the logistics? It seems schools can do so but will that person's appointment be for the duration of the school year?

Is there any additional support for the supervision of pupils within primary school? It appears there will definitely be additional supervision and support staff for secondary schools but I did not see anything for primary schools. I will leave it at that because we are constrained by time.