A teachers' union has demanded a major financial package to upgrade PE equipment as the obesity crisis worsens in schools.
The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) wants a "sustained multi-annual funding plan" to replace and upgrade PE equipment in second-level schools.
The Department of Education has given each second-level school a grant of €4,000 to upgrade equipment but the TUI says this is a "paltry" response to the so-called "obesity epidemic".
Last night TUI president Tim O'Meara said schools are expected to play a leading role in promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. PE can help achieve this but the resources must be made available in the first instance, he said.
The TUI call comes after the 2005 ESRI report on children's sports proposed substantial improvements in school sports facilities. The National Task Force on Obesity has recommended vastly improved PE facilities in schools.
Mr O'Meara said obesity problems were often linked to disadvantage. Schools in such communities do not have the same opportunity to operate fundraising drives within the local community for PE equipment compared with fee-paying schools and those who restrict entry.
Disadvantaged schools, he pointed out, are solely dependent on State provision to replace and improve equipment. "When this provision is inadequate, the school and students must simply 'make do without'. Failure to provide adequate resources for areas such as physical education is but a further example of the inequity that exists within the system."
Mr O'Meara said the "meagre provision of €4,000 is far removed from a realistic, multi-annual budget that would help boost the move toward the introduction of a revised PE curriculum and its introduction as a Leaving Certificate examination subject".
The TUI says second-level schools that need to develop their facilities should be able to submit a plan to the department. Such plans, it believes, should be considered on the basis of the individual need of schools and ensure minimum standard of facilities.
