Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On Friday, I visited St. Finbarr's Boys' National School, Bantry, which is working with the local mixed-ability sports club, the West Cork Jesters, which is one of the first clubs of its kind, to develop an all-weather pitch for the whole community. The students believe strongly in having an inclusive school and I hope there will be support for that application for funding. That visit was also a reminder for me that, despite being elected to represent all of our constituents and not just the electorate, we rarely hear the voices of children or representations on their behalf here in the Dáil. We may need new models of engagement to better capture and reflect young people's perspectives. On that point, I asked the students what they would like from their Government. They had a few different requests. They wanted money for kids and better playgrounds, which is a reasonable request. It may not be a surprise that the removal of homework also came up. This may be an obvious request for students to make but, when I read up on the issue, I saw there is merit to their suggestion. Homework for primary school-aged children has little pedagogical benefit. Will the Minister for Education review this practice to at least ensure our policy is based on evidence?

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