Sinn Féin MLA Karen Mullan has called on the Education Minister Peter Weir to immediately allocate the additional £42m of Covid19 funding to school budgets.

Speaking after a number of year groups returned to school today, the Foyle MLA said:

“School leaders are growing increasingly frustrated that the funding they have been promised by Minister Peter Weir has still not been allocated to their budgets.

“The Finance Minister Conor Murphy made this funding available to the Department of Education almost two weeks ago, so it is unacceptable that our schools have been left waiting by the minister.

“I have been contacted by principals who already have spent thousands of pounds out of their existing budgets on things like hand sanitiser, signage and PPE in order to facilitate a safe reopening.

“Many principals were already worried about their school budgets but this delay in funding is only compounding that anxiety. They now need clarity and certainty.

“The minister must act urgently to make this money available to our schools and to ensure that our children and staff return to school safely.”