Joe McHugh under pressure to clarify timeline for reopening of schools

Last night on RTÉ Prime Time, Minister Joe McHugh said he would not accept a 'half return' to schools in September.

However, it seemed to contradict a statement he made earlier in the day, in which he said it was hard to see all students back in school for the new term.

The Department of Education is working on new proposals on when and how schools will reopen, something Sinn Féin's Donnchadh O Laoghaire believes should have been done sooner.

"We are now at May 29 and the fact that we are only having preliminary meetings, there are no papers on the table as far as I'm aware, there is no specific proposal from the Department and I don't think that's good enough," said Mr O Laoghaire.

The Cork TD said that it looked as if there has been "practically no planning" going into the reopening of schools since they closed on March 12.

He said it was not good enough to only begin holding preliminary meetings now on something which affects hundreds of thousands of children across the country and all of their families too as well as teachers and staff.

It seems to me the Department took their eye off the ball in relation to the reopening of schools.

It is not just Sinn Féin looking for clarity, with the Labour party also looking for information on the impact it will have on teacher numbers.

Parents are also waiting to find out if they will need to make more arrangements in September.

Tanya Ward from the Children's Rights Alliance says many are currently struggling to mix their work with educating their children.

"Two parent and one parent families who are working are really struggling at the moment and are very stressed," said Ms Ward.

"People are just crying out for schools or some activities to be opened up."

The Minister did not respond to requests for comment.