Crunch talks continued today in a frantic bid to get schools reopened at the end of August.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin pledged a “major financial package” to assist schools in the reopening, with funding of hundreds of millions expected to be allocated.
The Government has also promised that all student learning will take place in the classroom and there will be no ‘blended’ learning model or home schooling.
Education Minister Norma Foley is due to present Cabinet ministers with her a detailed plan on Monday regarding the reopening of schools.
Ms Foley said: “The partners in education, including parents, teachers, students, principals and the widest representation, have fully and totally engaged in this process.
“I am confident that what I take to Cabinet will be solution-focused, it will be a road-map that everyone can clearly identify with.”
Once the document has been approved by Cabinet, the detailed guidance will be sent to schools.
However, teachers unions have expressed concern over funds and staffing.
The Association of Secondary Teachers (ASTI) said it will need more teachers if classes have to be split and more provision for substitution would be required.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) have also expressed concerns over staffing issues.
Opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that the Government will have a lot of questions to answer before schools can reopen in September.
The Sinn Fein leader told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I accept that she [Norma Foley] is a new minister and you have to get into your stride - but so far there has been an inability to answer one straight question with one straight answer.
“I think that very fact makes parents and teachers very uneasy.”
Sinn Fein’s Education spokesman Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, said Covid-19 has highlighted the need to reduce class sizes.
