The head of the secondary teachers' union has told the Oireachtas Special Covid committee that yesterday's guidance on reopening means schools will not be back full-time for all students.
ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie said schools will only be able to open on a restricted basis because of the sizes of schools.
Mr Christie said classrooms will look empty in September because ASTI members would not be there under the current medical advice.
He said the current medical advice was that a return to a classroom was an impossibility due to the requirement to maintain social distancing and that was a reality that has to be faced.