The Clare representative of Ireland’s largest teaching union says members’ biggest fear is that schools will be forced to close amid rising covid cases.
It comes as a meeting due to take place between the Irish National Teachers Organisation and the Department of Education yesterday was postponed.
Representatives from the INTO are due to meet with officials from the Department of Education, after the teachers union sought clarity on the latest government advice.
The meeting was scheduled to take place yesterday, but was delayed to allow the Department to bring proposals to the table as to how antigen testing will be rolled out in schools.
Confusion emerged early in the week over the apparent row back on the government’s behalf as to whether teachers would be exempt from a recent change in contact tracing rules.
A heated Dáil exchange took place between Labour Leader Alan Kelly who insists Taoiseach Micheal Martin remarked off-mic that teachers would not be required to isolate for five days if a member of their household was covid positive – in contrast to the rest of the public.
However, the Fianna Fáil leader denies ever making such comments.
Clare INTO representative Brendan Horan says their biggest fear is that classes will be sent home or schools will have to close if further safety measure aren’t enforced immediately.
Responding to such concerns, the Education Minister insists if substitute teacher panels need to be increased the government will consider such a move.
Minister Norma Foley says a range of measures have already been announced to tackle the problem, but they will be kept under review.
However, a local Shannon primary school principal says schools shouldn’t be left ‘swinging in the wind’.
Peter Walsh, prinicpal of St. Connaire’s National School feels the testing regime needs to be ramped up.
