Schools are 'essentially very safe,' Education Minister insists

Teaching unions have warned of huge shortages, while opposition TDs say the government's approach has omitted at-risk groups. Education minister Norma Foley said that schools are "essentially very safe". File Picture: Julien Behal

Norma Foley, the education minister, has attempted to quell union fears about a "massive shortage" of teachers as schools reopen, as well as children with special education needs and complex health needs being left in limbo. 

Ms Foley insisted there would be priority testing for children and staff of schools if an outbreak occurred. 

In response to questions from Cork South-Central Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire at a special Oireachtas committee on the response to Covid-19, Ms Foley said schools were "essentially very safe".

However, Mr Ó Laoghaire said there were cohorts of children with special educational needs, as well as families with very vulnerable members, that had been left in the lurch.

Those children and families had been issued with no guidance as to what to do upon schools reopening. Children were suffering from guilt and worry that they could harm their loved ones, while children with special educational needs still had no clear plan laid out.

It was not good enough to pass the buck to boards of management of schools, he said, as they were depending on department guidance.

Ms Foley said her suggestion was to seek guidance from GPs in a medical context, and that there were resources available for those cohorts.

There was no blanket approach, she said, insisting there was "no absence of clarity".

Earlier in the hearing, unions warned of a "massive shortage" of teachers if substitutes were required, adding that some teachers were at risk.

Parents' groups in another session of the committee warned of resource teachers leaving essential posts to fill in, while children "who did not fit into a box cannot go back to school".

Representatives from the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Fórsa told a special committee on the pandemic response that a cohort of teachers was at high risk.

Supply panels would not cover the deficit across the country, with languages and sciences most likely affected, they said.

Ann Piggott of the ASTI said if a student in a secondary school became ill, it could mean six teachers being off work, while Michael Gillespie of the TUI said recruiting was proving hugely problematic.

The shortage will be chronic, he said, most likely in Dublin and urban areas, while John Boyle of the INTO said supply panels would not be able to cover the gaps.

Ms Piggott said she had seen “heartbreaking” pleas from teachers at very high risk from underlying health issues.

“We are getting heartbreaking letters and phone calls,” she said. "It’s not a lot of people, but people with very serious conditions, people who have had cancer, who are missing lungs, who have asthma — multiple medical problems. They are very much in danger if they go into schools. We are not talking about a lot of people ... but if they go into school, their lives are in severe danger."