Norma Foley: 'Public health advice' will guide decisions on school closures 

Minister for Education Norma Foley

The education minister has been unable to say whether schools will remain open in the event of the country moving to Level 5 of the Covid-19 roadmap.

Norma Foley has reiterated that she does not see schools "as drivers of transmission of the disease" and reiterated that there are "no plans" to extend the mid-term break to help fight the spread of the virus but, she told RTÉ radio, that public health advice will drive any decisions about school closures.

The original text of the government's living with Covid-19 roadmap had schools remaining open under level 5 restrictions. However, it has since been amended to say that public health advice will be used to make that decision.

The Kerry TD said there are "no plans" to extend the break following media reports last week that it was an option. She said it was "a priority of the Government to keep schools open".

"The Irish experience, at this point, supports the current international position that schools are low risk environments for Covid-19 and, in fact, are not the drivers of transmission in the community," Ms Foley said.

"There is a huge commitment from the partners in education to keep schools open. Everything that we have done in schools has been underpinned by the public health advice."

However, Ms Foley could not say for certain whether schools would remain open in the event of the entire country going to Level 5 in the Covid-19 roadmap.

"I think, in fairness, public health advice on every step of the way at every level is always the primary concern for education and for childcare."

Ms Foley said that a case in Laois, where an entire year has been told to stay home after a positive case was "a public health call". She said that it would have been unfair to "burden teachers and school staff" with that decision.

"No two schools will be the same, so I do believe that public health are best placed to come in and make the assessment, make the adjudication."

She added that she believed that schools or her department sharing details of outbreaks was "not appropriate", saying that the discussion of cases in schools by parents was "natural".

Ms Foley said she understood frustrations that people felt, but stressed that "we are living in extraordinary times".