At the moment, the plan is for some pupils to start returning to school from August 24 onwards, with all pupils expected to be back in class by September. A range of measures are being introduced to protect both students and school staff when this happens.

However, Cllr Sheamus Greene, pictured below, who is a school bus driver, said there was little to no information on what protections were being put in place for local bus drivers. This, he said, could be “a potential very serious problem come September.”

“One of the groups most effected by Covid-19 across the world has been bus drivers,” said Cllr Greene. “Given that there are numerous school bus drivers in Fermanagh who are in their 60s and 70s, what provision has been but in place to protect these workers? Are any protective measures being put in place?”

He continued: “Some of the questions that need to be asked is will school buses carry full loads of up to 55 pupils at a time? Is this safe for both drivers and passengers? If not, how will pupils be transported to school? Will drivers be supplied with face masks and will the buses be fitted with safety shields around the drivers? Will the buses be cleaned with disinfectant during and after each bus run? Who will do this?

“These are just a few of the very serious questions around transport to school during this Covid-19 pandemic.”

Cllr Greene said he’d asked for answers from Education Minister Peter Weir on the issue, but they had not been forthcoming.

“The real fear for rural people, which includes families from our rural villages who have already been disenfranchised since the lockdown by their lack of access to proper broadband, is that they will be again the ones who will be left to fend for themselves. This cannot be allowed to happen,” he concluded.