The Department of Education said today it is still in consultation with teachers unions over how to make up for classes missed due to the bad weather and said no decision has been reached as to how to resolve the issue.
The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), which represents over 14,500 teachers, has advised its members not to make up for lost classes outside regular working hours.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio this morning, the union's general secretary Peter McMenamin said he believed that the lost hours could be made up during normal timetabled classes.
Over 70 per cent of schools were forced to close due to the cold in recent weeks and Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe came under fire after he ordered schools to stay shut for the first three days of last week because of the weather.
The Minister reversed his decision last Monday after many weather conditions improved in some areas of the country.
"This is not a crisis. We've lost a few days," said Mr McMenamin.
"There is scope to make up that time. There are arrangements that schools can make within the normal calendar without encroaching outside it at all," he added.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said it had already held talks with unions about resolving the problem of lost classes.
"There will be meetings over the coming weeks and there have already been initial talks about this issue last week and there will be an ongoing consultation and dialogue with education partners and department officials in relation to how any days lost might be made up during the course of the school year."