MINISTER FOR EDUCATION Richard Bruton has announced that schools will reopen tomorrow, after being shut for two days because of Storm Ophelia.
The ex-hurricane landed in the south-west of the country on Monday morning, forcing schools, colleges, shops businesses and transport routes to close as a precaution before the storm hit. Some of those services remained closed today in order to survey the damage and ensure infrastructure was solid and safe to use.
Last night, the Department of Education said it was up to colleges and universities to survey themselves whether they should open today, and said the same of schools who are concerned about the damage done by Ophelia.
Minister Bruton said on Twitter:
As always, schools must ensure safety of those in their care & give due consideration to this when making decision to re-open.
He thanked principals, teachers, students and parents who co-operated fully with the safety measures in place over the past two days.
He also advised schools that are looking for funding for damages on where to go:
Regarding emergency funding, for any State owned buildings school authorities are free to apply for funding under my Depts Emergency Works Scheme.
For schools which require repairs, any non-State owned schools should contact their Insurance Providers before contacting my Department.
School Transport Scheme services will also resume from tomorrow, Bus Éireann confirmed.
More information is available here.
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