Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegations for their presentations. We have moved past the issuing of guidelines and it is time to legislate. I do not care how schools manage to do it. They just have to do it because it is in the interests of children. It should be done in conjunction with schools and parents, by providing them with guidelines on how they might reduce the weight of schoolbags. It would be open to them to decide how the figures we set might be achieved.

With which measurement do we assess which figure is too much weight to carry? We need this information to legislate and enforce it. While we could develop guidelines, the legislation and its enforcement are key. What would be an acceptable level of enforcement? How would we go about enforcing the legislation? Should there be, say, an annual spot check in 10% of schools nationally? Should there be a three-strike rule and then one would be penalised? Should there be an appeals mechanism?

There should also be a certain onus on parents to purchase a suitable backpack capable of carrying a certain weight, as well as ensuring the weight is distributed properly between the shoulders and the hips to avoid impact on the back. I am not sure we need to consult parents further to determine if this is a problem. It is. We need to consult parents on how they would like to see legislation drafted, how it could be enforced and how they would work with schools to meet the requirements and obligations under such legislation. I would take a much harder view. It is our job to legislate. The issue has been discussed for 20 years. Obesity is a problem. There are children in secondary school who are larger than me because they are overweight. There has to be another way of assessing the matter. The delegations need to help us to legislate.