Ministers and senior officials will meet this afternoon for crucial talks on the Leaving Certificate, efforts to restart classes for children with special educational needs and the likely timetable for reopening the State’s schools.
There was a growing expectation ahead of the Cabinet committee on education’s meeting that Leaving Cert students will be offered a choice between sitting their exams in June or being awarded calculated grades.
As the Irish Times reports, a final decision could be made at tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting, though sources said it could also be delayed until the end of the week.
There is rising optimism in Government that special education could reopen next week, though this is contingent on the agreement of trade unions.
Prof Philip Nolan, head of modelling for the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), yesterday said Ireland was moving “rapidly towards the point at which the cautious and phased reopening of education would be feasible”.
Senior Government sources said they believed that if the rate of Covid-19 infections continues to fall in line with current trends, the phased reopening of schools should begin in early March.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin suggested yesterday there would be a “phased return to school commencing at primary”.
Education and construction
Mr Martin also gave some insights into the emerging plans for the reopening of society and the economy when the current lockdown ends on March 5th.
He said resuming education and construction were priorities but that wider commercial life was likely to remain closed.
Two senior sources said that non-essential retail was likely to remain closed for several weeks beyond March 5th, while hospitality would remain shut for longer.
Both also said that as general restrictions are eased, further curbs are likely to be introduced on incoming air travel, with mandatory quarantine in hotels for all passengers looking increasingly likely.
Meanwhile, the vaccination of older people in the community is expected to start from next week, beginning with those aged 85 and over. People aged over 80 should receive their first dose in mid-February, officials said, while vaccination of the over 70s is expected to begin in early March.
Despite recent controversies over the supply of vaccines to Ireland and other EU countries, sources involved in the Irish rollout are confident that a substantial proportion of the population will be inoculated by the summer.
