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Live BlogLAST UPDATE | 5 Mar 2020
THE THIRTY-THIRD DÁIL reconvened today – the second time since the general election result – and the new TDs discussed the threat that the new coronavirus Covid-19 poses to Ireland and abroad.
After four new confirmed cases were announced last night, Health Minister Simon Harris said that schools will be impacted in different ways by confirmed cases, but added that it was important that schools did not act unilaterally, and that people shouldn’t panic.
Here is the latest update on where we are on Covid-19:
If you want more information, you can visit the HSE’s page on the coronavirus, or the WHO page where updates are also available.
If you want more specific information, you can search for your question on our Q&A article, in which we answer our readers’ questions with expert advice.
You can catch up on today developments below.
Meanwhile in Qatar, the country’s Ministry of Public Health has indefinitely banned serving shisha at coffee shops and restaurants to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Gulf state took other measures, including the suspension of classes at schools and universities.
The Qatar News Agency tweeted that the suspension will start on 10 March and will continue until further notice.
Meanwhile in Qatar, the country’s Ministry of Public Health has indefinitely banned serving shisha pipes at coffee shops and restaurants to prevent the spread of coronavirus,
The Gulf state took other measures, including the suspension of classes at schools and universities.
The QNA tweeted that the suspension will start on 10 March and will continue until further notice.
That’s all from our liveblog this evening.
As noted below, the media will be briefed on the latest Covid-19 developments in Ireland at 8.30pm this evening.
Stick with TheJournal.ie for all the latest updates from the briefing.
The Department of Health will be briefing the media on the latest Covid-19 updates at 8.30pm.
Giving some advice on what to tell children in relation to Covid-19, McDonald, having had her own experience, says: “Don’t dismiss their concerns and fears, be honest.”
On large gatherings, McDonald said the medical experts should decide that.
McDonald’s two children attend Scoil Chaitríona, a school that has closed for two weeks after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19.
“My own family has been affected … my son and daughter are now self isolating at home,” she tells the Dáil.
McDonald says her children’s “delight at two weeks off has well and truly passed”.
She said there is no sport, no hanging out with friends, “no craic whatsoever”.
She said the “reality has dawned on them very quickly”.
McDonald thanked those that have sent good wishes to her and her family.
“There is a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty” out there, she says.
Mary Lou McDonald says advice and protection for workers must be guaranteed.
Workers need assurances that they can come forward and will be protected, she says, adding that special attention must be paid to low-pay workers.
She says those that live week-to-week will fear losing out on pay if they are required to self-isolate.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald says a meeting of the north-south ministerial council should be convened as a matter of urgency.
“We need to increase capacity rapidly,” she says, adding that no bed should close.
The beds as part of the winter initiative which are due to close on 31 March should not close, says McDonald.
The Sinn Féin leader says beds need to be freed up by discharging those that are well.
This will require more home help hours, she says.
Fianna Fáil’s Paul McAuliffe says the HSE helpline should be open longer and he says test results for people should come back sooner as people who are tested are very stressed.
“If we are in a war, we need a war Cabinet,” he says, urging the government talks to progress.
As regards travel restrictions, Stephen Donnelly asks if flights from the restricted areas should be allowed, stating that people from Italy and the areas affected will be travelling to Dublin this weekend.
He says it is a question that needs to be asked.
Donnelly says the Department of Foreign Affairs website could also be more clear.
Schools have also not been directed to not travel through the hot zones, and Donnelly asks why schools aren’t being asked not to go there.
Fianna Fáil health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly says a lot of people are worried right now, particularly those that are susceptible.
Children are increasingly concerned too as they are getting some false information on social media.
He commends communication from HSE, but he says HSE Facebook messaging has been poor.
He says some information is not being shared, and says when it came to the first case, he saw no reason why the mode of transport used was not revealed.
He says as much information that can be shared should be shared.
Education Minister Joe McHugh is up next.
His department has been in touch with schools that have been forced to close.
All schools have been provided with information, as well as child-friendly posters and videos.
“There is no need for any school to close unless advised to by the HSE,” says the minister.
Earlier today Harris said schools must not act unilaterally.
Coveney urges people to take out travel insurance if they are travelling overseas.
Travel advice will be constantly reviewed, he says.
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is speaking now.
He says his department has been dealing with citizens in areas affected overseas for some weeks.
He urges people to register on the website so they can provide assistance to those impacted.
Ireland remains in the containment phase, says Simon Harris.
“I understand just how anxious people are about this outbreak,” he says, adding that the risk is low for people who have not travelled to the impacted areas or who have not come in contact with an infected case.
He says health workers are working flat out and should be commended.
Harris says airports and seaports are directly liaising with health authorities in relation to Covid-19.
The Department of Transport has been in touch with all public transport operators, he says.
Proposals on social protection supports and sick pay will be considered in Monday’s sub-committee meeting on Covid-19, Harris adds.
Harris is briefing the Dáil on the confirmed cases to date, along with the number of tests that have been carried out.
Health Minister Simon Harris is now addressing the Dáil regarding Covid-19.
“This is neither a time for panic or a time for complacency. Our approach will remain both vigilant and proportionate,” he says.
The patient who has died in the UK had been “in an out of hospital” for other reasons but was admitted on Wednesday evening to the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust and tested positive.
The news comes as cases of coronavirus in the UK have more than doubled in 48 hours as the country moves towards the delay phase of tackling the virus.
Some 116 people have tested positive, including 105 in England, three in Wales, six in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland.
Just two days ago there were 51 UK cases.
A number of NUIG students studying on Erasmus programmes in Italy have been asked to return home following the announcement that Italian authorities have closed all schools and colleges in the country.
Ten students who were studying in Northern regions – the centre of the outbreak – have been asked to return to Ireland and to follow the advice of the HSE and Department of Foreign Affairs.
A further nine students have not been asked to return from Italy as they are not studying in the Northern region, a spokesperson said.
Other universities, including UCD which has around 30 students on Erasmus in Italy and Trinity College Dublin, which has 22 students on Erasmus, said they are not requesting their students return but are asking them to inform them if they intend on travelling back to Ireland.
A statement from the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said: “Sadly, we can confirm that an older patient with underlying health conditions has died.
“The patient has previously been in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons, but on this occasion was admitted and last night tested positive for coronavirus.
“The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
“We will not be commenting further and ask that everybody respects the family’s privacy.”
Authorities have confirmed the first coronavirus-related death in the UK.
One patient with underlying health conditions has died after testing positive for coronavirus, the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said.
Primark has confirmed that it is asking the majority of staff in its Dublin headquarters to work from home tomorrow.
In a statement this evening, the company said:
“In order to test our operational readiness and IT capability should a situation arise where we need to temporarily close one of our offices, we have asked the majority of our employees in our Dublin headquarters and Reading office to work remotely on Friday 6 March.
“We have not had any cases of Covid-19 among our employees.”
Dr Ghebreyesus said WHO is “concerned that in some countries the level of political commitment and the actions that demonstrate that commitment do not match the level of the threat we all face”.
He said:
“This is not a drill. This is not the time to give up, This is not the time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops.
“Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans.”
He called on governments to educate their public in knowing what the symptoms are and how they can protect themselves.
He also called on governments to increase their testing capacity, get hospitals ready and ensure essential supplies are available.
“If countries act aggressively to find, isolate and treat cases, and to trace every contact, they can change the trajectory of this epidemic.
“If we take the approach that there’s nothing we can do, that will quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s in our hands.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of WHO told the briefing that that the Covid-19 epidemic is “a threat for every country, rich and poor”.
He said WHO is “concerned that some countries have either not taken this seriously enough or have decided there is nothing they can do”.
In a press briefing this afternoon, the World Health Organization confirmed that there is now a total of 95,265 reported cases of Covid-19 globally, and 3,281 deaths.
Police in Northern Ireland may face 12-hour shifts and cancelled rest days if coronavirus has a serious impact on staffing levels, the PSNI has said.
This afternoon, PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne stressed the potential impact of Covid-19 is very much unknown at this stage.
However, he revealed contingency plans are in place if high numbers of his officers are struck down by the disease.
Speaking of the possibility of 12-hour shifts and cancelled rest days, he said: “It’s not a long-term solution but we can use it to boost the number of people available.
“At the moment we are not complacent, and we can use a lot of experience from operating at pace at different times, whether it is dealing with complex investigations or serious disorder to keep officers and staff available to work.”
Byrne said that the PSNI also has to look at “how we will support all our staff through this difficult time because we are dealing with uncertainty, see how we can get them back to work quickly when they fall ill”.
The Chief Constable also revealed he is in discussions with Stormont’s Justice Department about securing bolstered powers to enable officers to detain affected people who might be unwilling to quarantine themselves.
He said he hoped powers handed to police in England could be replicated in Northern Ireland.
Asked if he was concerned about the risk to law and order, he responded: “It’s easy to speculate some sort of scenes of a horror film where we are dealing with pandemic and virus, but at the moment our assumption is actually that as people fall ill, that will quieten down the calls for service from us.”
A second case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Wales, the country’s chief medical officer has announced.
Dr Frank Atherton said: “We have identified yesterday evening the second Welsh case. It’s a patient who has travel history to Italy, a Cardiff resident who has been assessed by infectious disease experts, and who is being managed in a setting in Wales.”
He said the patient, who he said he could not identify but was not thought to have a connection to the first patient who tested positive for the disease, was being treated in the Welsh NHS.
He said the patient was identified from community testing at their home.
Hello, Hayley Halpin here now.
I’ll be taking you through all the latest Covid-19 updates this evening.
Eight of the new confirmed patients contracted the virus in the UK and it is not clear yet whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad.
So the numbers in the Republic of Ireland haven’t changed today (so far), but in England, the Department of Health has said there are 25 further confirmed cases of the Covid-19 virus.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said 17 were diagnosed after recently travelling from recognised countries or who were from recognised clusters under investigation.
Our reporter Nicky Ryan has been speaking to Richard Grogan, employment law specialist, who explained workers’ current entitlements if they have to self-isolate:
RTÉ’s Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers reports a final year exam for RCSI students has been moved forward by seven weeks:
Thoughts and prayers with all 300 of them.
The government said people should not be de-incentivised to disclose symptoms or to inform their employer of exposure to Covid-19.
The Workplace Relations Commission has issued a guidance note on Covid-19 for employers and employees, asking employers to be as flexible as possible and explore options as the need might arise.
“The government recognises that the State itself is the largest employer in the country, and guidance will be issued today in respect of the arrangements that will apply to all Civil and Public Service employees
“The government acknowledges that there are a wide range of scenarios where businesses and employees will be potentially affected by the impacts of Covid-19.”
The Taoiseach has asked officials to meet with employer and trade union representatives to discuss how assistance can be best provided.
The government has just issued a statement on income support for employees who are required to self-isolate.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said workers “should receive income support” if they have to self-isolate in accordance with medical advice.
“This will require flexibility and responsiveness by employers and in government social protection schemes,” he said.
Varadkar said proposals will be considered by the Cabinet subcommittee on Monday.
HSE chief Paul Reid told reporters at today’s briefing that the HSE will be taking up the issue of misinformation with social media platforms:
“For us in terms of social media, we’ve had good support today from all the social media platforms. There have been occasions where somebody may post a video, something of a test being carried out on an area.”
He said this is “not good for the public and not good for us”.
Our reporter Christina Finn has an update from the Dáil:
In the Dáil, on a discussion about Europe, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett that if Ireland has to fall foul of intellectual property rules relating to vaccines or rules governing medicine its distribution, that should be done.
He says private hospitals, if needed, must also be used, even if that is against health policy. “If rules or fiscal rules or state aid rules need to be broken then that should be done,” he says.
Boyd Barrett also states that if there is any profiteering on the back of this virus, people and companies should face serious consequences.
If there is an attempt to raise prices or medicine, equipment, hand sanitisers, “it should be severely punished”.
“Severe sanctions should be imposed if there are any signs of that across Europe,” he said.
In international news: NATO has said that it has confirmed three cases of the novel coronavirus linked to its military headquarters in Belgium – a civilian employee and two family members.
The employee had recently travelled to Italy. NATO said the employee and family members had not visited its Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) facility in Mons, southern Belgium, since returning from Italy.
“There are three confirmed COVID-19 cases within our wider SHAPE community,” NATO said in a statement.
Our reporter Rónán Duffy has been looking at public transport challenges:
The use of public transport is one that has been raised in reference to Ireland’s response to the coronavirus.
The National Bus and Rail Union has been raising concern about its members’ interactions with the public. General Secretary Dermot O’Leary told TheJournal.ie that the union has a number of concerns:
“Bus Éireann coaches don’t have protective screens for example. So the drivers feel they are vulnerable, there is a lot of interaction with passengers across the country, north, south, east and west.”
“The other issue is the capacity issue on public transport these days, anyone who uses public transport these days be it trains, Darts, commuter services , Dublin Bus or buses in other cities. Some of these voices you read are saying to keep outside three feet from people with allergies or sneezing or anything like that, well you wouldn’t find three inches on packed public transport.”
In a statement, the National Transport Authority responded to a number of queries and to anecdotal observations that passenger numbers have decline on some services:
“NTA and the transport operators have been engaging with the health authorities. The cleaning practices of transport operators are in line with advice provided by the health authorities. We have no data to suggest that passenger numbers are down.”
This long-read from Vox explains what connection they think bats have with the Covid-19 outbreak:
“Bats are hunted and eaten in China, and in fact were brought into the markets in the case of SARS, and that is how other animals, including people, were infected.”
Some useful resources on the most common symptoms of Covid-19 and mythbusters:
In other good news, coronavirus recovery cases have been overtaking the number of new cases for the past few days:
Dr Doyle said that there are some positives for Ireland in tackling Covid-19:
“It has emerged elsewhere so that has given us some time to gather some information to find out about it, and also to prepare. We do have previous knowledge of other Coronaviruses and other infectious diseases. So the principles of management will remain the same, whether that’s from a public health perspective, or a clinical perspective.
“Investigating each of the cases, implementing prevention measures their public health measures and control also control public health measures. And we do know that many of these things work.
“We do have previous experience with pandemic influenza and SARS. We are in a developed world health healthcare system.
“And the other thing is, and I think it’s really important to emphasise at this point is that I think the Irish people are a nation who have solidarity. And we have come through previous crises.”
Cormican also adds this fun fact: “It’s called Corona because some people think that the pictures of it looked like a crown. I can’t see it myself but that’s why it’s called coronavirus.”
Parents of children at the Glasnevin school raised a number of questions at a townhall-style meeting this week, and one was “why don’t you just test everybody?”
Professor Martin Cormican, National lead for infection control and antimicrobial resistance, HSE says that testing contacts too early, before they get sick, can give a false reassurance, and is not the best use of lab testing capacity.
In a Claire Byrne poll, a panel of over 1,000 adults were asked whether they were “concerned about Covid-19 in Ireland”.
The results showed that most people were:
The results showed that the group who were most concerned were women (67%) and those aged 55 and over (66%), as well as those aged between 35-44 (63%).
People aged 18-24, and men were the groups who were least worried (57% of each of these groups).
59% of the ABC1 groups were concerned, versus 64% of the C2DEF group.
Dr Sarah Doyle, a HSE Consultant in Public Health Medicine, said that there were “a number of reasons” why Ireland is concerned about the virus:
“It’s new. So we’re still learning about it. There can be considerable individual and family impact.
“There’s no vaccine for prevention, and to no treatment. Because it’s new everybody is susceptible.
“It will have considerable impact on health services, we know that from experience elsewhere. And if there are health care staff infected that will also have an impact on healthcare services.
“It will also have considerable social and economic impacts,” she said.
Our reporter Adam Daly is at a weekly HSE briefing on the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Commenting at a briefing this afternoon, HSE chief executive Paul Reid said about the four new cases in the west of Ireland:
All those cases have been placed in infection control environments have been treated for that matter.
Reid says contact tracing of this cluster of cases is a “significant challenge”.
On the Glasnevin case, he said:
We took a very proactive engagement with the relevant areas involved and decisions that were made very promptly with the communities involved for the public representatives for the area were briefed in detail.
Reid says the HSE will follow that same line of contact in all cases as was done in Glasnevin, ie, issuing letters and meeting with parents.
Our political correspondent Christina Finn is watching Dáil proceedings closely, here’s a quick note from her on what to expect:
“The Dáil is back today for the second time since the general election. There are two matters up for discussion – the European Council meeting held last month and the outbreak of Covid-19.
“It’s a six and a half hour sitting today – so we might not get to statements on the coronavirus until after 5pm.
“The FG parliamentary party meeting met at noon today to discuss Micheál Martin’s latest offer of government formation, but it is understood there was a big focus on Covid-19, where Minister Harris briefed TDs and senators on the latest.”
You can follow her tweets here: @christinafinn8.
This was enjoyable: it’s hard to keep politics out of any debate.
Over at the Dáil, it has gathered today for the second time since the general election.
All party leaders are in the middle of giving a statement on Covid-19.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Social Democrat Róisín Shortall have questioned the usefulness of a Cabinet subcommittee on the Covid-19 coronavirus, which is chaired by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Elsewhere, the Central Bank confirmed that one if its employees is being tested for Covid-19. A spokesperson added that the HSE has advised them to continue business as normal, and so its premises remain open today.
Employees have been given the option to work from home.
The Central Bank had yesterday advised the firms that it regulates (banks and credit unions, for example) to have a protocol in place to tackle major operational events that might happen in relation to the new coronavirus Covid-19.
Some timing.
Harris also said that it’s important that the public healthcare protocol is followed where there are confirmed cases, and in the case of schools, that they do not act “unilaterally”.
He added that some information will be given to the public through the media about confirmed cases, without compromising patient confidentiality.
A quick recap on what we know about the most recent confirmed cases first:
Why is it always the disadvantaged schools and not just ‘schools’. I get it they have families who struggle but si do many others who arent claiming si dont fall into a category. We paid €500 for 3 children’s books this year. No help for us and we fall into the category of too rich for any assistance but too poor to live outside of the monthly budget. The squeezed middle are always forgotten. Those Being classed as Disadvantaged are not the only ones struggling!
*so
@ash doyle: 500 quid for 3 books, wow……
@Bernard Sweeney: Perth
@Bernard Sweeney: apologies, perhaps all the books for 3 children?
@ash doyle: because tax payer s are expected to continue to provide for all these areas while parents take zero responsibility. That what happens when you’ve a soft system that keeps giving
@ash doyle: this term disadvantaged is derogatory and takes away from the true problem, under resourcing of education. The notion of free education is bull when people pay for what are called extra curricular activities designed to enhance the child’s education cost an arm and a leg and should be part of the education syllabus. This is more waste and openly discriminates between public and private education which is available to the better of and also funded by the state. Education is not a luxury and should value all children equally as the constitution says
@Dangling Damo: In Germany extra curricular activities like music lessons are provided for all children. In Ireland it costs about 800 euro for a years tuition.
@ash doyle: are you implying the parents of deis schools are all claiming social welfare? That’s not clear in your comments.
Yes the middle is squeezed. But Socio economically disadvantaged areas are squashed. Nobody is saying other people aren’t struggling but they are saying that the people who are struggling most are in these areas and with the funding available (and it is only a pilot project) they are starting there
@ash doyle: cos there are levels to struggling. Gotta draw a line somewhere.
@Alan: so DEIS schools and the supports they provide shouldn’t exist?
@ash doyle: Wait till they go to college, year one cost us 11k. Not including the extras like travel expenses, books and so on.
We also paid over 500 for books for two at secondary school.
@Jude: 800 euro that people should not have to pay. These activities should be funded through peoples taxes and delivered by the department of education or what ever its called now.
@Jude: In our school , every child from senior infants up learns a musical instrument , in school hours . This is in addition to choir / concerts / musicals.
@ash doyle: Why not lobby to reform the whole system, and not just the local schools that you know of? To me, it makes sense to start with the schools where people are struggling most. Everyone knows it’s a sacrifice to support children. It would be great to have extra money to spare, and maybe the Children’s allowance isn’t keeping pace with inflation?
@ash doyle: the school books should be published by the state and supplied by the state, just like the UK. Our system is a money pit for the politically connected publishers who change their books often to increase profits at the expense of hard pushed parents.
I can sense an election looming!! Plenty “good news” stories from the government now in the coming weeks no doubt. A bit of advice to people, try not to suffer from loss of memory between now and election time due to we all overdosing on “good news”
@Mary Cullinane: In the UK books are left in the School and reused by pupils. In Ireland new editions are consistently been released so books can’t even be passed down through families.. It’s another money making scam in this Country
@David Garland: Yes! The root of the problem indeed! So unnecessary.
@Stephanie Fitzgerald: The government keep changing the syllabus. A new syllabus means a new set of books. We are currently on our 3rd Junior Cert Maths syllabus in the last 12 years. That is three sets of books.
Why not invest in reusable e-learning resources instead?
Seems very wasteful to spend the money on books.
@Adam J: the department of education have effectively been subsidising the printers for decades. The use of workbooks is clearly a monely making exercise that should have been restricted.
@Adam J: kids spend enough time in front of screens already and books are, broadly speaking, better for learning.
@gm_cmanning: Spending time Infront of screens would only be a negative thing though if the content was negative right? Or possibly the sendentry nature of it but the same would be true for books. E-learning tech has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade, adaptive learning/intervention techniques alone are worth investing in. It’s been broadly ignored by the dept ed to date.
@Adam J: in my local primary school, parents were asked did they want the children to use tablets or old-style books.
Most parents voted for books because they thought the children spent too much time looking at screens already.
@Chin Feeyin: yes many people are ignorant and make foolish decisions. Printed media is going to seriously decline. There are no inherent problems with using a screen instead of printed pages. There are inherent problems with print media such as requiring an entirely new book to update a section which is often just a minor change. A licensing system makes much more sense.
@Bilbo Baggins: not necessarily. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/books-better-than-screens-for-students-study-finds-1.3772618
@Craic_a_tower: see link above, maybe not so foolish?
@Adam J: have you considered the cost of the equipment that e-learning would be utilized on?? In my sons school that type of equipment cost 700 euro and remember this grant is aimed at DES schools
@Craic_a_tower: my sons school was fully iPad based when it opened. 5 years later they are reverting back to books because the children do not learn as well on a fully tech based style plus its a distraction As a parent I found it very difficult to support him in how to organise his study for the junior cert because everything was online from different sources. I’m studying computer science si it’s not like Im computer illiterate. . A combination of both is best. That being said the primary school workbooks should be abolished because they are just a money racket , now that’s the type of thing that should be moved to online sources as the waste is phenomenal
@Liam Higgins: But if the money was invested into eLearning, it can be applied across most schools, not just disadvantaged, I’m not saying it should replace books altogether, I’m saying that money would be better spent pushing for reusable and scalable eLearning platforms that can be updated on a whim.
“Kids are too much in front of screens” isn’t an excuse, that’s the parents fault, they should be sent outside after school, I was when I was a kid, interactive learning is much better for kids as it challenges them more than a list of questions in a book.
@gm_cmanning: For purely reading text, yes books are the better option, but if the eLearning content is engaging and challenging, the student will learn faster.
@LittleBee: Obviously the content being presented to the kids was not engaging enough, using iPads was the first mistake, they really use desktops in a classroom situation, a full classroom using virtual infrastructure wouldnt cost too much to implement and the software can be updated as often as they want and would be scalable to all schools
@Adam J: primary schools have been using interactive white boards for about 15 years. They are no outdated and beginning to be replaced at about 15k a go. A combination of both is the key. Sometimes you just cant beat a really book.
@Adam J: Most primary schools have very poor broadband and constantly have to fundraise to get even the most basic of devices .
@Adam J: not in my experience.
@LittleBee: apologies is 3k a go
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: this is true weve used a large portion of our last fundraising to boost the broadband so the wifi and iPads can be used in all rooms
Why doesn’t the DES publish its own resources ? What about children from disadvantaged homes in main stream schools ?
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: this largely is about kids from disadvantaged homes in mainstream schools
@gm_cmanning: no, it’s about disadvantaged schools, DEIS.
@Aoife Mac Cana: disadvantaged schools are mainstream schools. And they’re a DEIS school cos their catchment area is socio-economically disadvantaged therefore a significant number of the homes their students come from are similarly disadvantaged.
@gm_cmanning: as per the article, the pilot fund is for DEIS schools, not mainstream schools.
@Aoife Mac Cana: you are missing the point. Disadvantages schools are mainstream schools. Mainstream refers to the teaching format of the school not the socioeconomic status of the area it is based.
You might actually mean ‘all schools’ or ‘including schools more widely’ but DEIS schools are mainstream schools. They were awarded DEIS status due to specific circumstances that mean they meet the requirement for disadvantaged. But they were set up and continue as mainstream schools. DEIS isn’t a foundational status.
@Aoife Mac Cana: as per previous post. DEIS schools are mainstream schools!
@gm_cmanning: The funding is for DEIS schools .
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: I know, where I say it wasn’t? Pointing out that DEIS schools are also mainstream schools
@Jensen Bhroin: It’s the definitions of ‘mainstream’ that is causing ambiguity. DEIS schools meet criteria that sets them apart from other government schools, thereby separating them from the mainstream.
Yes, there are disadvantaged students at mainstream schools and it is unfortunate that they too are not being included in the pilot program. A pilot program, in essence, needs to have a specific sample size in order for results to be studied. If the program is successful and shows benefit to students’ learning, I’d hope that the program would be rolled out nationwide.
@Aoife Mac Cana: your definition is inaccurate. DEIS schools are mainstream schools. There’s not a debate about it. I should know, I work in one.
The best work is done when an election is on the cards.
Oh ho, looks like there’s a few votes for sale.
@Pius Flynn: Doesn’t mean this 1m won’t help though
All school books should be free. To much of a burden on families. And changing editions from year to year should be banned also workbooks should be stopped.
@Councillor Bill Clear: I couldn’t agree more. It’s an archaic racket, insisting on everyone owning the same text, then reissuing it yearly.
have your say