Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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126. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in the context of the protection of schoolchildren, all school staff, teachers, support staff and caretakers, and their health and safety, if he is aware of serious harms being caused (and escalating) for several years now by high density, breeding gull colonies in many schools around the country; if she has noted the recent very stark warnings in respect of Avian Flu (in which gulls are heavily implicated) issued by the Department of Health, the Health Surveillance Protection Centre, the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Agriculture, and indeed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage/National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) which urge that the public avoid contact with seabirds and their faecal waste; and if she is aware, can she inform the Deputy as to what advices, instructions and resource provisions have been or will be issued by her Department to all schools impacted by the urban gull issue and the warnings issued by the above mention State bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40106/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Issues concerning public health including those raised by the Deputy, are matters for the HSE Public Health. Specifically, the role of my Department is to communicate to the education sector, public health information and advice on public health matters as recommended by the HSE Public Health.

Regarding health and safety generally the body which has statutory responsibility for ensuring that health and safety requirements are met by all employers, including schools, is the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The Authority also provides information and advice to organisations, including schools, to assist them in ensuring that their responsibilities in respect of health and safety in the workplace are met.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 sets out the responsibilities on individual school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. The Statement should identify potential hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate provision in place to safeguard the safety and health of employees and pupils.

The HSA has published resources specifically for schools to support them in managing health and safety in the school environment. The HSA published Guidelines on managing Safety, Health and Welfare in Primary Schools is the outcome of a joint project undertaken by the HSA and Kilkenny Education Centre. Similar Guidelines for post-primary schools is the outcome of a joint project undertaken by the HSA, the Department of Education and the State Claims Agency. The HSA also provides a number of online training courses specifically for the school sector. Further details on the advice, resources and training courses available from the HSA can be obtained from the HSA's website: www.hsa.ie.

My Department will review this matter with the HSE to determine whether there is a need to communicate further guidance on this matter to schools in the coming term.