A Kerry INTO representative says they will continue to be guided by public health experts.
The primary school teachers' union is calling on the Government to issue clarity as soon as possible on the reopening of schools.
INTO representative for Kerry and Limerick, Ann Horan, says she has been inundated with calls from teachers in recent days ahead of the planned reopening of schools on January 11th.
She says the union, whose executive is meeting today, wants clarity from the Government and is seeking an urgent meeting with public health officials as safety is their main concern.
They are concerned about an increase in young children testing positive for COVID-19 and says there should be a review of the need for primary school pupils to wear face masks.
Ann Horan says there is also an issue around parents not socially distancing when dropping children to school:
Meanwhile, the Catholic Secondary Schools Parents' Association is calling for schools to remain closed.
The group says reopening second-level schools while the virus is out of control would be a huge mistake adding that planning for the State exams needs to be done now.
The CSSPA's spokesperson, Don Myers from Castlemaine, says his preference would be for exams rather than calculated grades.
However, he says exam students have already been greatly disadvantaged in the last school year and it now looks increasingly certain that the full curriculum will not be covered.
The Government is due to make an announcement tomorrow about school reopening.
