Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stopped short of supporting calls for a ban on homework for schoolchildren but admits some children get “too much.”
His comments come just weeks after President Michael D Higgins called for homework to be banned.
The Fine Gael leader told Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show that he will now talk to Education Minister Norma Foley about the matter.
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In an interview with RTÉ’s News2Day, President Higgins said that he believed time at home should be spent doing more creative activities.
“I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things," the former Arts Minister told schoolchildren in attendance.”
The Taoiseach has now weighed in on the homework debate, saying that he thinks children get too much homework.
Mr Varadkar said: “I guess I'd have to talk to Minister Foley about that. We haven't had a chance to discuss it.
“I think definitely kids can have too much homework.
“You could have a long day in class, get home in the early evening and then face, you know, three hours of homework.
“I remember that when I was a kid, staying up very late to do homework.
“I think there's definitely a place for homework but we need to make sure that there isn't too much of it.”
When asked if he minded President Higgins making public comments on homework, the Taoiseach noted that his contributions are “always welcome”.
In a recent survey, Irish Mirror readers were also overwhelmingly in favour of banning homework, with 98% of our readers in favour.
In a landslide decision, 57,440 readers voted yes, while just 1,211 voted no.
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