Written answers

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Department of Education and Skills

Covid-19 Pandemic

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

512. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of centrally acquiring the necessary personal protective equipment, PPE, and providing same to schools. [18792/20]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the 27thJuly, my Department published the report to Government “Reopening Our Schools, The Roadmap for the Full Return to School”.  

This Roadmap set outs how schools will reopen for all students from the end of August and what the operation of our schools will look like and be sustainable in a COVID-19 context.  It has been developed in line with public health advice issued by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the Roadmap for Society and Business, and follows comprehensive and intensive engagement with education stakeholders including the school management bodies and staff representatives. 

My Department is providing capital and current funding of an additional €377 million to support the safe and sustainable reopening of schools under the Roadmap. 

My Department is in the final stages of establishing a multi supplier arrangement to provide the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for schools to meet their needs under their COVID-19 Response Plan. This will be completed next week. 

The drawdown framework arrangement provides a list of suppliers who can meet the needs of the schools across a range of PPE including hand sanitiser, visors, gloves, masks, wipes, aprons etc.  The suppliers will be ranked in order of best price on a basket of items.  

School will be able to select the products that meet their specific requirements from suppliers on the framework who have been ranked through a stringent evaluation process to ensure they meet the best in quality and delivery timelines. The framework will be available to schools on the OGP buyers zone website for draw down in early August. 

Any order from schools will be processed within a very short timeline by suppliers and delivered directly to schools.

Further guidance on this will issue to schools once the framework is in place.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.