Back to School costs continue to rise for parents nationwide

RECENT surveys have shown that the total cost per school year can accumulate to up to €1,700 for primary school children and up to €2,900 for secondary school children, with those families having multiple children going through the school system at the same time facing an acute financial burden.

With the recent advent of computer tablets in classrooms, the costs have seen a jump by €500 in many cases, with each individual student requiring their own table to be able to fully participate with homework and classroom activities.

The National Parents Council, ahead of the annual return to education, identified a slew of hidden costs that many families must weather at this time of year including transition year contributions and payments for school trips.

Addressing this topic in an address to the Dail, Laois Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley said:

“We are at the time of year again when parents, particularly those in the low- and middle-income brackets, face the annual challenge of covering back-to-school costs … In light of the cost-of-living crisis, there is an onus on us to do all we can to help the low- and middle-income households. We have a reasonably good education system, but we must deal with the issue of costs."

The TD highlighted that some families can, when faced with the problem of not being able to pay these fees, turn to illegal moneylenders because they have nowhere else to go; many of these lenders charge rates of interest in excess of 50 per cent.

As a solution to the financial crunch, Mr Stanley argued that a ministerial directive be sent out to all schools ordering a shift to more generic uniforms and that the €100 back-to-school clothing allowance for families be restored.

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