All schools and colleges in Leinster and Munster will remain closed tomorrow and Friday.
Department of Education officials say the decision has been made for safety reasons with freezing conditions set to worsen.
Two separate red weather warnings have been issued by Met Eireann with 'blizzard like conditions forecast.
Given disruption to transport & the safety risks arising, esp in relation to the ability to get home safely before blizzard like conditions hit Munster & Leinster, all schools, 3rd level institutions & centres of further ed in red areas will be closed tomorrow & Friday #StormEmma
— Richard Bruton (@RichardbrutonTD) February 28, 2018
In relation to Connaght and Ulster decisions on school closures will be made individually depending on the circumstances in their area. The situation in Connaght and Ulster will be kept under review #StormEmma #beastfromtheast
— Richard Bruton (@RichardbrutonTD) February 28, 2018
MET EIREANN ISSUES RED WEATHER WARNING
Statement from the Department of Education and Skills:
Given the disruption to transport and the safety risks arising, most particularly in relation to the ability to get home safely before blizzard like conditions hit Munster and Leinster, all schools, third level institutions, colleges and centres of further education in red areas will be closed tomorrow and Friday.
In relation to Connaught and Ulster decisions on school closures will be made individually depending on the circumstances in their area. The situation in Connaught and Ulster will be kept under review
The Department’s guidance for schools in relation to making up for time lost due to unforeseen closures is set out in Circular 0009/2017 which is available at the following link- https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0009_2017.pdf
As outlined in the circular, significant flexibility is given to schools to make up tuition hours lost due to unforeseen circumstances.
For schools which will require repairs, any non-State owned schools should in the first instance contact their Insurance Providers before contacting the Department regarding emergency funding, for any State owned buildings school authorities are free to apply for funding under the Departments Emergency Works Scheme. The schemes circular and application form are available on the Departments website at: https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/Building-Works/Emergency-Works/Emergency-Works.html. For phone queries the number to contact is 057-9325379/5414.
