Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Beddy for that because that is the critical piece. That is where the communication with the parent comes in. That is where everybody has a role to play and where everybody can feed back in and have a comment. As well as asking the questions, one is developing an awareness and engaging the parents, the school and the boards. One is then bringing it to a higher plane where somebody will eventually take ownership of it. Having three children myself, I know the weight of the bag is staggering. It varies from year to year, whether they are second class, fourth class, or whatever. Schools vary in how they administer it. On Friday evenings, some children do not bring home their bags. or there is a light bag on a Friday and a light bag going in on a Monday morning.

It amazes me how some schools cannot engage in the green schools initiative because schoolbags are too heavy for children to walk to school. It also defeats any initiative for pupils to be physically active. There have to be simpler solutions such as leaving a set of books in school and having fewer copybooks. Everything suggested is reasonable and effective. However, the key is that if we do not address the weight of schoolbags, we cannot get pupils active and fit. I believe it is falling down owing to the engagement with boards of management. As I sit on a board of management, I am being critical and observant. The message is not getting to parents. Teachers are busy and overworked. However, in expecting a child to lift a heavy schoolbag every weekday for 38 weeks of the year we are not looking after his or her best welfare and meeting his or her health and safety needs.