"I strongly believe the only option is a full return to education in September" - so said Minister for Education Joe McHugh at yesterday's press conference.
After weeks of speculation as to how schools might reopen and what that reopening might look like, at last we have something, even if it is only an aspiration.
We always knew that it was going to have to be a balancing act – balancing the health considerations of not providing children with a proper education and continuing to deny their families the respite and support offered by schools, against the very serious public health considerations of Covid-19.
The Government thinks it can get the balance right, while at the same time while reopening the schools to all. Yesterday, it