Mayor: Give kids wheelie schoolbags

A ‘HARROWING sight’ is how Mayor of Kerry Michael O’Shea described watching children carrying heavy bags to school in the morning.

The Mayor tabled a motion at the monthly meeting of Kerry County Council calling for the Minister for Education to introduce a system that would make life immeasurably on young school goers - bags with wheels!

Mayor O’Shea said that such action would lessen, if not prevent, spinal problems later in life for so many children.

“Schools across the world now use digitisation systems to reduce the weight of carrying books. It’s a harrowing sight watching kids in the morning carrying heavy school bags. There’s no need for it,” said Mayor O’Shea.

Cllr Toireasa Ferris added that there was no need to invest in technology for something requiring a logical solution, such as arranging to leave some of the book load at school would make sense.

Cllr Norma Foley said that while she didn’t want to appear negative on the issue, she emphasised there was a logistical problem with introducing wheelie bags for school kids given the design and layout of many schools.

“Corridors are way too narrow to accommodate anything up to 600 children using wheelie bags. I’m not being negative, but it’s a problem of logistics,” Cllr Foley said.