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LAST UPDATE | 1 Dec 2021
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the requirement that primary school children wear masks is not a rule he is “entirely 100% comfortable with”.
Micheal Martin said the new rules are “challenging” but there has to be “common sense, discretion and practical approach” applied to the requirements.
The Taoiseach’s comments come as the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) this afternoon defended guidance requiring children aged nine and over to wear face masks in indoor settings, insisting that the proposal is in line with advice from the State’s health watchdog.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan recommended the measure to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last week, citing advice from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and the level of Covid-19 infection among children aged 5 to 12.
The health watchdog, which occasionally advises NPHET on certain measures, met in August to discuss whether the minimum age for the wearing of face masks should be reduced.
However, Hiqa’s advice to NPHET in September said that “there should be no reduction in the minimum age for requirements… with respect to mask use in the community”.
“The potential benefits of a requirement or recommendation for children to wear face masks must outweigh concerns regarding potential harms associated with face mask use,” its report said.
The watchdog added that its advice should be “kept under review” and be informed by national and international data, and that existing Covid-19 measures – including those relating to in-school and after-school interactions – should be encouraged.
But speaking at a NPHET media briefing today, Deputy CMO Dr Ronan Glynn defended the new guidance.
He said that HIQA had issued “a clear message” in its guidance that it should be kept under review by NPHET and revisited at a later date.
“The particular point they made, I suppose, was that if the epidemiological situation was to change significantly, that would need to be looked at again and ultimately dealt with,” Glynn said.
“So all of the scientific evidence and the background evidence is largely there from October and September. It changed very substantially between then and now.”
‘It is challenging’
In the Dáil this afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was challenged by Labour leader Alan Kelly over the legal enforcement of the new regulations.
Martin said:
“It is challenging, deputy. I appreciate that. It’s not a place I am entirely 100% comfortable with, as a person, as a parent, and as a former teacher myself.
“I’m very much alive to different situations in different schools. We have to be sensitive to all of that.”
Kelly asked whether school principals and boards of management will be legally protected when enforcing the wearing of face masks.
He said that children have a constitutional right to education and queried what legal protection schools would have to refuse children entry if they are not wearing masks.
“What is the legal basis for it and have you guaranteed that principals are legally protected here?” Kelly asked.
“If they refuse entry of a kid into school, are they legally protected by this state? Because I know that the PDF that went out had no signature on it and wasn’t on headed paper.”
Martin said: “In the middle of a global pandemic, where school principals and management are applying public health policy, they will be protected.”
Kelly also criticised the Government for how it communicated the new policy.
He said: “Surely there should have been a communications process whereby principals are engaged, unions are engaged with, and also children are engaged.
“There’s a huge difference from a development point of view between a nine-year-old and a 15-year-old.
“This can’t just happen overnight, and that’s what’s been asked.
“I understand the minister has now clarified that there are a couple of days grace, but ultimately this is mandatory and that is fine, but the communications process around it is frankly diabolical.
“Principals are left this morning at school gates wondering what they’re meant to do.”
Martin said that school management will know their community and how to engage with their community.
“Obviously, in terms of special needs children there won’t be a requirement if it is not suitable,” Martin added.
“I think there has to be common sense, discretion, practical approach to this.
“I think in the main there will be. Overall, we have to look at this as a collective society.”
This morning, Norma Foley, the Minister for Education, said that she accepted that some children may struggle with wearing masks.
“I recognise that there may well be issues of exception, where there may be difficultly for a child in terms of wearing a mask,” Foley told Newstalk Breakfast.
“A child with complex needs, for example, or if a child has any difficulty with breathing or other relevant medical conditions, there will be exemptions and they will be very clear exemptions in that respect.
“But I also want to say that this operates at second level, it has operated seamlessly at second level.
“And again there has been extraordinary buy-in from all concerned”.
Contains reporting from Lauren Boland and Press Association
Need to start education and exposure to breast feeding to a time before women have a child. Eg visits by breastfeeding mothers and babies to secondary schools. Has to be normalised for everyone. Give women and girls the confidence they can do it. Then adequate supports. 59 breastfeeding consultants in the HSE is inadequate I’d say.
@Emma Smith: as in, progressive indoctrination? Seems a tad archaic. The information is there, and so are the supports. If a new mother wanted to breastfeed, she would. Firstly, fewer women are having babies now due to the sheer expense of them. Secondly, fewer women are breastfeeding due to it being impractical in a world where women have to work full-time jobs now because one income in a household isn’t enough. Let women have the choice as to whether they want to breastfeed or not. Let them be the ones to decide if it works for them.
@Donna-Marie Kovačić: They are less likely to have the choice, or to find that it works for them, if they don’t have proper support.
@Donna-Marie Kovačić: Breast feeding impractical? Always the right temperature, always sterile, always available, and the perfect balance if nutrients. Breast feeding mothers should be allowed and encouraged to take their baby into work with them.
@Donna-Marie Kovačić: What has a lower birth rate got to do with the percentages of women that are breast feeding their newborn? If you don’t have a baby in a given year you’re not included in the stat
There’s not enough support and not enough education around breastfeeding. If a mother has any issues breastfeeding the solution offered by everyone around including health professionals is just to give a bottle. While a mother still might want to breastfeed and just need someone to help her looking into why it’s not working out. The only reason why a woman absolutely cannot make breastfeeding work is if they don’t have milk ducts which is a very rare condition. Of course any mother can choose not to breastfeed, but if they want to there should be support and education offered. Education is a big thing as well, some people literally can’t comprehend that a breastfed baby can feed a lot more than every 2-3h and it’s normal
From experience, I think the main problem is that it’s all touted as being so natural etc without telling expectant parents (both of them need to know & understand) about the potential issues that can arise. Some of them are easily solved but some need a bit more help. However I think they’re so scared of people not doing it that they’re not giving the full story.
Additionally not all the midwives are lactation trained. Every single one missed my son’s tongue tie despite me asking them to check as there’s a family history (& it’s one of the biggest issues with breastfeeding). It was only when I paid for a private lactation consultant that she spotted it straight away.
The whole breast vs bottle argument too is very out of date as there’s never a mention of combination feeding where it’s either expressed breast milk in a bottle or formula. This can be a great option for some but it’s never mentioned. You have to pick a side.
We where given very good advice don’t worry about the feeding just check the nappy afterwards using this you can work out if not feeding enough or to much and also looking for the signs of hunger it not just crying it lips and hands.
I also think in this country and others as well the female body is to sexualised and this makes women feel uncomfortable un doing their top in public, which is shameful.
We need more advertising showing breast feeding and more women to fight and be open about it.
I live overseas where you couldn’t turn with out see babies been breastfed and no one even blinked.
If breast feeding is best, then this cant be done from work, or elsewhere – the state could “…endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
This is what would help the most.
Expressing milk and freezing it makes it so easy to fill a bottle if required.
Way to round out the weekend Valerie ✌️✌️
Pyre of wheelchairs to follow?
We won’t hit our target so let’s change the target?
No need to worry if the government keep up they’re fabulous housing policies there’ll be no affordable way for young couples to start families let alone even worry about breastfeeding although it may be useful to people entering the country the ones already here can sod off if they want a life go to Australia or US only thing is you need 5000 in you’re account entering and have to work opposite here though
have your say