Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber today. Like everybody else, I am looking forward to the day when she comes into the Chamber to debate leaving certificate reform, school transport changes or the school building programme envisaged under the national development plan. We are all tired of this pandemic but unfortunately we need to continue to deal with it. There is no manual or handbook for it; we are feeling our way through it. That challenge needs to be recognised.

I know the Minister appreciates the work that is being done by the entire school community in responding to this. The actions the Government is taking are in the interests of public health; we are acting on public health advice. This is not about forcing children to wear masks or anything else. This is about trying to protect lives. It is important to send out the message that the action being taken in schools is about trying to protect lives. It is not that these are necessarily measures that the Minister wants to introduce. The most important thing for all of us is that we protect lives in the school community and also in the wider community.

I welcome that the Minister's opening statement mentioned exams. While those facing into State examinations next year may not have experienced the same level of disruption as the leaving certificate classes of 2020 or 2021, they have experienced significant disruption. It is important that the leaving certificate group the Minister established continues and, in particular, that it has engagement with the Irish Second-Level Students' Union, ISSU.

I am very proud that at all times during the discussion of State examinations, the Minister put the interests of students first. I encourage her to continue to do that and to have that engagement. She is right in saying these students have lost many aspects of their rites of passage which will have long-term implications. We need to look for ways to support them. This does not just relate to exams, but also to other aspects of their lives. In the context of exams, I ask her to continue to engage with the ISSU and to put the interests of students first in giving them those options.

One of my primary concerns, as I am sure it is one of the Minister's, relates to disadvantaged students. During this pandemic some students are learning at home in a supportive home environment and have been able to learn. However, many students have fallen behind. While I accept the July provision and summer supports have been made available, we have not quite measured the impact of this pandemic on certain students' learning. While we will come through this pandemic, I am concerned how that disadvantage will manifest itself in two, three or four years' time. We need to ensure that long-term supports are in place for children in primary school who have not been able to achieve their full potential, as they would have done if they had had a normal education. It cannot just be about summer provision or other small areas. It must be about being able to follow those children right through the education system to ensure that while the pandemic has disrupted their lives, the supports will be made available in the long term. We need to make a commitment in that area.

As we come out of this pandemic, the following matter will be important. We have seen a big shift to online and blended learning. This has been a challenge, but the education system has responded. We need to assess that entire process. The education system will be using technology to a far greater extent in the future. It would be useful to look at what worked and what did not work. Everyone accepts that people learned new things about how technology operates. Students learned in particular ways. Some schools were particularly innovative. Looking at how we used technology and how students learned using it will serve us well into the future. In the future, schools will be using augmented and virtual reality headsets and will have completely different ways of learning. Our experience over this period will be important.

I thank the Minister for her work. I look forward to debating those other issues with her soon. Hopefully everyone in the school community will get through this period.