asked the Minister for Education if he can give particulars of the number of primary schools (a) which have applied for luminous arm bands and (b) which have not.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Luminous Arm Bands.
42.
The information sought by the Deputy is not available to me. The issue of luminous arm bands to primary schools is being undertaken by the Safety First Association and all national schools have been notified to apply for supplies to that association.
Does the Minister not agree that, although it is nearly three weeks since the matter was first raised here and the Minister gave the information that he proposed to issue arm bands, very little progress has been made in this matter? Would he not agree, unless something is done within the next few days, the Christmas recess will intervene and the long days will be here and there will be no need at all for these arm bands? Does he not think it is rather ridiculous that, through somebody's bungling, arm bands still appear not to be available so long after a decision was made by the Department and by the Minister to have them issued?
We are not doing badly. They are fairly well distributed all over the country. There have been 50,000 issued already.
Where have they gone to?
All over the country—Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Cork city——
The only ones in Dublin are those supplied by a supermarket, not by the Minister.
I drive into town every morning. I meet hundreds of children on the way. In the city I have yet to see one arm band. I think somebody, as usual, is sitting down and doing nothing. I am not blaming the Minister but he might get a move on the people who are responsible.
I will do that. One must acknowledge that it is only in the past few weeks that we have got this under way. I acknowledge that the thing has not got fully under way yet. I guarantee that by the start of the new term, in January, it will be.
They will have them for the long days.
Will the Minister not say that it was a week after he made the decision and announced it in this House before the letter was written to the schools?
That is not true.
The Minister told me in this House that the following week the letter was going out. Instead, it was exactly eight days after he announced the decision.
In view of the fact that arm bands are not available it would be in the interests——
They are available.
They are not being distributed.
They are distributed.
Until they are fully distributed, would the Minister not agree that it would be a wise thing to postpone the schools commencing time?
We had all that earlier on.
We were supposed to have the armbands earlier and we did not get them.
We had a long debate before the Deputy came in.
I am hoping the Minister will deal with this in a serious manner.
We had a full debate on this.