Mary Lou McDonald to attend Dáil on Thursday after time in quarantine with children

Mary Lou McDonald says she will be back in the Dáil for any debate or vote on Thursday, after four days of quarantine with her two children.

Two of the Sinn Féin leaders children have been put into precautionary quarantine along with the rest of their school due to a person contracting coronavirus.

"All things being equal, I intend on being in the Dáil chamber on Thursday," she told RTÉ Radio.

"My children are well and I have been advised there is no reason for me to stay away.

I'm very cautious when it comes to things like this, I won't do anything that poses difficulty or puts anyone in jeopardy. I'm very much one to err on side of caution.

Whether or not there will be a second vote for Taoiseach on Thursday must be decided by the business committee by Wednesday.

Ms McDonald stressed that accurate information would be her first priority in this crisis if she were in government.

"Whoever would be in government, their first obligation is to establish the best medical advice and opinion and follow that, doctors do know best," she said.

"Political leadership is to ensure that the community has full and accurate up-to-date information and in that regard there has been criticism of the HSE helpline with some reporting they couldn't get through and getting conflicting advice."

Ms McDonald says she has "mixed views" on whether or not the school should have been named in the media, which the HSE had asked be kept anonymous despite the school being named widely on social media.

"I'm taken with the position of health authorities that if information is too liberally spread, it could have the affect of people not coming forward. However the overriding concern has to be safety of community and individuals within it," she said.

"To that extent, word will spread, it's the nature of modern technology and I think on balance, it's better to have a handle on information, to have full consent from schools and not to catch people by surprise or grossly breach privacy, but priority number one is to stop the spread and keep people safe,and there shouldn't be an air of secrecy either."

Ms McDonald says her children have been left "a bit shook" after being kept at home.

They're just kids and concerned that a person that they know has contracted this virus. They want to know the person makes a speedy recovery and frustrated that we have to keep them at home.

"Initially there was great jubilance at the prospect of no school for one of my children, but that wore off fairly quickly."

The Sinn Fein leader was among a number of parents from the Scoil Chaitríona in Glasnevin, who were briefed by the HSE on Monday night.

"I know today there was a problem in regards to the letter from the HSE, it's important the community has a sense of faith in the information made publicly available and the HSE helpline is actually helpful.

"Reliable information, that's the thing that will give most comfort to people."

Ms McDonald added that the HSE is in contact everyday and has advised to keep a close watch on her two children and inform authorities immediately of any symptoms if they appear.