Primary school pupils will only attend school once a week in September if the current coronavirus rules remain in place.
The Education Minister revealed that this was the plan if the two-metre social distancing limit is kept.
It would also see secondary school pupils only attend class in person two days per week.
Minister Joe McHugh said if the two-metre rule is still in force by September, students will engage in blended learning from home on the other days.
He said: "I want a common sense approach to reopening schools in September.
"Where possible, children and young people and staff should be far enough away from each other so they are not breathing on or touching each other and this will have to be accompanied by additional hygiene measures in schools.
"I want to be very clear with everyone around the impact of one-metre and two-metre social distancing in schools.
"At primary level the two-metre rule would mean almost all pupils attending school just one day per week.
"At post-primary level, this would mean most pupils attending schools two days during the week."
He said if the limit was reduced to one metre, primary school pupils would attend for two-and-a-half days per week and secondary school pupils would attend on a half-time basis.
It comes after Ireland's Chief Medical Officer insisted that there would be no return to full lockdown even if there is a second wave of the virus later this year.
Dr Tony Holohan said the country knows a lot more about Covid-19 than it did in March when lockdown measures and restrictions were first introduced.
He said if there was a second wave or resurgence of the disease, the same measures would not need to be taken.
"I wouldn't be anticipating at this point in time that we would be moving back to blanket closures in the way we did in March," he said.
"What we what we will be doing over the next couple of weeks is meeting with NPHET (National Public Health Emergency Team) and looking at a scenario where we have a resurgence of the disease, what measures we will take or what would be appropriate," Dr Holohan told RTE radio.
"If a resurgence of the disease happened or a second wave, we would know what specific measures to take, having done our work proactively.
"The population's behaviour is very different now than it was in March and people understand more about the disease and the risks and how they can protect themselves when it comes to hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette."
