Education Minister says she is 'confident' schools will reopen

Minister Norma Foley said that “phenomenal work” is being carried out by school communities. File photo

The Minister for Education is “confident” that schools will reopen next week, as questions remain over the capacity of school buses to get children to school following updated health advice.

Minister Norma Foley said that “phenomenal work” is being carried out by school communities across the country to get schools reopened safely. However, an additional fleet of 1,600 buses will be needed in order to maintain social distancing on buses for secondary school students, she confirmed.

The Department of Education had previously planned to operate bus services as normal, albeit with additional hygiene measures and assigned seats. Following updated health advice, school buses for secondary students must maintain social distancing. 

While negotiations ongoing with Bus Eireann, it is unlikely the additional buses will be in place in time for students returning to school next week. “To be fair, it is quite a logistical challenge to do that immediately,” Ms Foley told RTÉ.

Meanwhile, the Minister came under fire from Regina Doherty, the Fine Gael senator and former Minister for Social Protection. Speaking on RTÉ, Ms Doherty said she is personally concerned about her children returning to school.

There are also unanswered questions about the Leaving Cert calculated grades following the controversy about a similar system in the UK, she added. 

Senator Doherty said: “We need to see far more visibility whether that happens in the Dáil or whether [the Minister] just makes statements, shows us [the Leaving Cert] algorithms, talks to us about the process of how predicted grades are going to work, talks about the fears and gives people a forum in the next number of weeks where parents can express their concerns.”