Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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182. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the guidelines schools and principals will receive in terms of public health safety before they return to reopen schools. [7529/20]

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when he expects to be able to issue schools with public health requirement guidelines for the reopening of schools. [7530/20]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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219. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will be issuing guidelines pertaining to the safe reopening of primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7745/20]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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220. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if adjustments will be made on health and safety grounds to the pupil-teacher ratio operational in primary schools for the 2020/2021 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7746/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 182, 183, 219 and 220 together.

On the 1 May 2020, the Taoiseach announced as part of the "Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business" that schools will commence opening on a phased basis at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year.

My Department is engaging and working with the education partners and relevant stakeholders on planning arrangements for the re-opening of schools in accordance with the timeframe outlined in the roadmap and all decisions on how schools are to safely re-open and operate will be consistent with public health advice.

As part of this engagement, each of the education partners were given the opportunity to outline the key issues that they would like to have considered in the context of re-opening schools. These will now be worked through in detail as part of the development of the roadmap for reopening schools.

The National Return to Work Safely Protocol has been published, and this protocol will inform discussions with all education partners so that appropriate guidance for schools is developed and arrangements put in place in time for the new school year. This work will also be informed by guidance and experience from other jurisdictions and from advice published by international bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).