Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
167. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has commenced consultation with principals, teachers, parents, students, SNAs and other stakeholders regarding the reopening of schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10164/20]
View answerTo assist with the development of contingency plans for the re-opening and operation of schools in an environment that may require social distancing and other public health requirements, my Department is engaging with education partners and relevant stakeholders which include representatives of students, parents, school staff, school leadership and management bodies on planning arrangements for the re-opening of schools in accordance with the timeframe outlined in the “Roadmap for Reopening Society & Business”.
As part of this engagement, each of the education partners and stakeholders 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 contingency plans for re-opening schools. 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).
