Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Research has been undertaken and there is an acknowledgement within the Department that damage was done to children through unavoidable school closures. In the UK, there is a £1 billion catch-up fund for children and young people. Is it the Minister's intention to advocate for a fund that would do some of the work to help children who have been damaged - I use that word, but another term would be "negatively affected" - by the lack of in-class teaching to catch up? Can we expect a catch-up fund from the Department to finance the repair of the damage that has been indicated by its reviews?