Education Minister Norma Foley faces a tense meeting later with teaching unions as some have called for a delayed and staggered reopening of schools.
The ASTI, the union which represents the majority of secondary school teachers in the country, has said they are “deeply concerned” that Minister Foley may reopen schools on Thursday “without putting in place additional measures necessary to safeguard the health and safety of students and school staff.”
They said they will be asking Minister Foley to consider making antigen tests available for all parents and their children to be used prior to going to school as a supplement to the existing testing and tracing regime in second-level schools.
The ASTI will also be calling for the speedy rollout of HEPA filtration units.
The statement added: “It beggars belief that almost two years into this pandemic this basic facility is not in place where necessary.”
The General Secretary of the ASTI, Kieran Christie, told RTÉ he has heard from principals that anywhere from 10 to 40 or 50% of teachers and students may be absent in schools on Thursday.
However, Government Ministers are adamant that schools will reopen on Thursday as planned.
The Dáil is not due to resume until January 19 but the Government has a lot of work to do in the coming days.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan will meet later today to assess the impact current restrictions are having on the Omicron wave.
It’s expected they will make changes to the rules people have to adhere to if they are close contacts.
Cabinet will meet on Wednesday to sign off on the changes but the Ministers are now also anticipating a second Cabinet meeting on Friday.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said Cabinet is likely to meet on Friday to respond to any restrictions recommended by Dr Tony Holohan after NPHET meets on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in a letter to hospital CEOs across the country, HSE boss Paul Reid has told them to prioritise emergency and Covid care over the next 14 days.
That means elective care can be “scaled down” where necessary, while private hospital capacity is also being used “to the greatest extent we possibly can.”
Thousands of people now face having their elective procedures postponed.
