Here’s a question for all you mothers (and mothers-to-be) out there: how do you feel about fizzy drink vending machines in schools? Are they a good idea or a bad one?

We all know how hard it can be to make sure that your child/teenager is eating well when they’re at school, and in recent years, the topic of fizzy drink vending machines in Irish schools has been a sticky one.

In fact, there have been groups campaigning to have vending machines removed from schools, mainly because they encourage children and teenagers to eat (and drink) unhealthily.

However, the Irish Independent reports that Government health experts have refused to ban the vending machines, simply because they are making too much money. Instead they are recommending that the tax on fizzy drinks be increased, in order to discourage children and teens from drinking them.

Fizzy drinks in schools? Good or bad?

According to reports, cash-strapped secondary schools are making up to €1.3million a year from having vending machines on their premises. As a result of this income, the Government has refused to ban the machines because they believe that the schools can’t afford to lose the extra income.

It is believed that more than 320 of Ireland’s 729 secondary schools have vending machines and according to the Special Action Group on Obesity, the machines are a “valuable source of revenue.”

What do you think ladies? Should vending machines be banned?