Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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109. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the efforts she has made in respect of school premises being inspected to ensure Covid-19 health and safety requirements are met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28950/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has agreed a Memo of Understanding with the Health and Safety Authority that reflects our shared objective of ensuring that the Return to Work Safety Protocol for addressing COVID-19 in the workplace is being implemented.

In relation to school inspections, my Department’s Inspectorate will lead on visits to schools for the purposes of working with and advising schools in implementing the Return to Work Safety Protocol for addressing COVID-19 in the workplace and public health advice. The objective of the Inspectors visits in this context are to provide ongoing and continuous support to schools to sustain reopening in a Covid-19 context.

My Department has also published a suite of helpful guidance for the safe and sustainable reopening of schools. Each school is required to have a COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe operation through the prevention, early detection and control of COVID-19 in line with public health advice. This guidance is focused on the practical steps schools must take to minimise the risk of transmission of infection.