Professor Martin Cormican has said he believes the "vast majority" of public health members on the National Public Health Emergency Team believed school closure was not required for public health purposes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor programme, the former member of NPHET spoke about lessons that could be learned for any future emergencies.
It follows comments he had expressed recently that Ireland imposed measures during the Covid-19 pandemic that excessively limited basic freedoms. "I didn't set out to open a can of worms," he said.
Prof Cormican, who is a Professor of Bacteriology, School of Medicine, University of Galway, reiterated NPHET's advisory role and that it was the Government who made the decisions.