A proposed mandate which would compel primary school children aged nine and over to wear masks has provoked a furious reaction from parents’ groups.
The National Parents Council Primary has warned that the mandate would prompt “a lot of families” to keep their children away from school.
The reaction comes after the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) recommended to the Government that children aged nine or over should wear face masks in school and indoor settings.
Áine Lynch, National Parents Council Primary chief executive, told the Irish Times said the group received more than 700 contacts from parents within hours of Nphet’s recommendations being reported.
“There are a lot of parents saying they won’t send their children to school,” she said.
The Children’s Rights Alliance, warned that parents were concerned that face masks could cause issues for children, especially those with autism, learning difficulties or health issues such as asthma.
“This means that some children will find it difficult or indeed impossible to wear a mask in school,” said Chief Executive Tanya Ward.
Parents of deaf children expressed particular upset and concern at the proposal, with one mother saying the “recommendations from NPHET to compulsorily mask primary school children landed like an emotional bomb among parents that have children with additional needs or a disability.”
“Deaf children in the classroom are already at a disadvantage and can struggle to keep up with their hearing peers. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for our children to see people’s mouths when they are speaking. When I am out with my son and I am required to wear a mask, I regularly have to remove it when I am talking to him so that he can see my face,” Margaret Byrne wrote.
“Let’s not forget about open doors and windows and staggered break times, all the additional noise that impact a good listening environment that they did not have to previously contend with. Deaf children will not be able to identify where a voice is coming from if every child is to wear a mask. They will be isolated among their peers; they will miss huge volumes of class interactions.”
“To place a deaf child in this type of learning environment is unthinkable and even cruel.”
Many of the thousands who marched <https://gript.ie/watch-thousands-march-against-further-covid-lockdowns-in-dublin/> in Dublin’s city centre yesterday opposing further lockdowns and a vaccine mandate, expressed concern about the proposal to mask children at primary schools.