Primary schools should open for an extra hour to help children with extra-curricular activities - as well as working parents.
That's according to Mary McCarthy, columnist with the Irish Independent.
She told Newstalk Breakfast she believes later openings would benefit everyone.
"I think that schools should see themselves more as hubs, now that it's the norm for two parents to be out working.
"Instead of leaving it up to the case where the family can afford the activity, why not give schools quite a big budget?
"I mean they coughed up €87 million last year for COVID... it was a crisis, but they found the money.
"I think this is important: it would give kids a chance that maybe wouldn't be able to do these activities to do the activities.
"But also it would give parents an extra hour, because it is a bit of a struggle to get down to the school gates."
She said teachers could also earn more in the process.
"At the moment they do a lot of summer camps and they do a lot of grinds.
"So some of them may want to actually earn a bit of extra money. So they could do that if they wanted to be involved.
"And if they didn't you could get private people tom run [it] - or even hire college students".
While for parents, she said: "It's a bit of a stress to be honest... you have to arrange childcare there, and that's expensive.
"Or else you're literally just not taking on full-time work.
"But even for the parents who stay at home and don't work... they'd like their kids to do Lego Club, Chess Club".
