Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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370. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has considered moving the two-week Easter break forward to reduce the amount of time that children spend learning remotely; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8011/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The scheduling of the school holiday periods during the academic years is agreed between the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions and my Department for the purposes of standardising breaks at Christmas, Easter and mid-term. This is important to ensure certainty for the school community about the dates of school holidays.

My Department has provided a suite of guidance materials, agreed with the education partners, to enable schools to facilitate the continuity of learning for all pupils/students in a Covid-19 context. These are available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool.

The full re-opening of our schools for all students remains a top priority for Government and my Department is focussing on the safe return of all pupils and students to school on a phased basis in March.