Schoolbag weight concerns
Deputy Murnane O'Connor briefly thanked the Minister on firefighters, then raised concerns about heavy schoolbags and poor posture in children. The item was cut off before a response.
There are four remaining Deputies and I will take 30-second questions from each of them.
Comment on this
I thank the Ceann Comhairle and thank the Minister. I am delighted with his commitment to resolve the pay for retained firefighters. I met a lot of Carlow firefighters. Urgency is the important thing here.
I have written to all Departments over recent weeks because children are on their phones constantly and so their heads are now being bent. We are seeing an awful lot of poor posture. Even if posture has been a problem for years, there is a way to prevent the problem.
This will cost the State no money. That is good news. It is a matter of awareness and education. I have been contacted by a physiotherapist in Carlow, Anthony 'Star' Geoghegan, who has done a scientific report that can solve this issue. We have to act fast, because this will be a long-term problem if we do not step in.