Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Weight of Schoolbags: Discussion

10:00 am

Photo of Jim DalyJim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a few brief questions. I was going to ask the witnesses the same question Deputy Chambers posed. In the next contributions as they sum up they might advise the direction they would take on this issue. We as a committee will have to make our call on what we will do afterwards, but what would the witnesses suggest we should do to progress this issue? They will have noted the frustration Deputy Chambers expressed. We do not want simply to say that we aired this issue, put it out there, discussed it, left it at that and walked away from it. We want to be more proactive on it.

Dr. Dockrell referred to employees and to legislation covering the workplace. Are the witnesses aware of a case of this nature that may have been taken or where the issue of liability arose? I am not sure where the liability would lie if I as a parent were to take a case against what would ultimately be the school, and I suspect it would be the board of management and not the Department that would be liable.

That the responsibility does not lie with the Department might suit it. Do the witnesses have any thoughts on the liability issue? I think someone compared this to the Army deafness claims in that there could be a raft of students claiming that they were made to carry excessive weight. If it happened in the workplace, there would be a liability.

I jocosely mentioned Michael O'Leary and how he, given his track record, would be the man to bring down the weight of bags. We need to see schools being more proactive and showing more awareness. We can have the debate about introducing legislation afterwards, but every time we walk onto a plane we have to put our bags into a thing. If there was one of them with a weighing scales in every school and children were encouraged to throw their bags up on it to see the weight of the bags, it would create awareness and conversations would start. This goes back to an earlier question. Are the witnesses aware of any examples of good practice in schools or has any parent highlighted any such example?

My final comments relate to what is happening in Iceland where, on schoolbags days, occupational therapists visit schools. They talk to the children about the weight of schoolbags and how to carry them correctly. This again goes back to creating awareness. Iceland reports that it does not have an issue with excessive weight. The matter is mentioned periodically but it is not an issue in Iceland because of these schoolbag days. I would be grateful to the witnesses for their thoughts on those matters. As Deputy Lisa Chambers stated, perhaps the witnesses would focus on suggestions to the committee and then we, as a committee, can make our call on it.

I know there was a lot in that. I call Dr. Dockrell.

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