Ian McDonagh is busy these days. The 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student is studying for his exams. He is also working a 30-hour week as a healthcare assistant in a local nursing home. "I've been working part-time in the nursing home since last year," he tells RTÉ News. "When the pandemic started I knew I could walk out, and concentrate on studying, but I thought 'why would I leave them in the bad days when they've been there for me in the good?’".
If the exams go ahead this summer the Merlin College, Galway student, who is a Traveller, will be the first in his family to sit the Leaving Certificate.
The nursing home sector has been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with 50% of all deaths occurring among nursing home residents.