Health spokesperson Dr. James Reilly said that "providing a comprehensive health service for our children is the foundation for a healthy Irish population.”

“A health screening appointment for children starting school could help with the early detection of chronic conditions and could help to treat childhood illnesses speedily. This is not only an investment in a healthy future for Irish children, but it will prove cost-effective for the health service in the long run.

“The opportunity to pick up hearing and sight problems before they impact on a child’s ability to learn would be immensely beneficial. Identifying heart, lung or other physical problems would make safe exercise easier to achieve for our students. The benefit such screening could bring in identifying childhood obesity alone cannot be overstated.

"Twenty two per cent of Irish children aged between five and 12 are overweight or obese which will mean health problems in the future like diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis and certain cancers. The Government must not shirk its responsibility to promote health and provide prevention programmes,” Dr Reilly said.

Education spokesman Brian Hayes supported Dr. Reilly in his call for a health check for all children during their first year at school.

“A free health check for children starting school, delivered by their GP or practice nurse, would help identify, at an early stage, children who need to be assessed for special educational support.”

“All scientific evidence points to the fact that early intervention is vital in terms of children with special needs meeting his or her full potential. Ideally, special needs difficulties should be identified as early as possible, in children between two and three years of age, but at the moment children aren’t getting the treatment they need until much later.

"This programme would provide the chance of early intervention where it hasn’t happened before reaching school age,” Deputy Hayes said.