Cases of Covid-19 among children have declined by nearly 14% in the past two weeks.
The Education Minister's rejected claims adequate resources have not been provided to ensure testing and tracing could cope with the pressures of schools reopening.
Thousands of school children are restricting movements after being deemed close contacts.
Minister Norma Foley does not believe schools have been let down by the Department of Education:
Cases of Covid-19 among children have declined by nearly 14 per cent in the past two weeks.
8,220 under-18s tested positive between August 12th and 25th, but less than 7,100 did so in the next two weeks.
The country's 14-day incidence rate dropped by 17 per cent during that period.
It now stands at 442 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 532 on August 25th.
Public health officials say principals should wait until a public health team does a risk assessment, before making decisions on close contacts.
Joe McKeown, president of the INTO, says schools need to be able to access that information fast
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