€54,000 the cost of educating your child
Family support groups yesterday called for greater assistance from the state towards meeting the expense, which they said was crippling some households and causing a surge in appeals to the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Society national secretary Columba Faulkner said the general rise in the cost of living had pushed requests for financial help up 50% in the first few months of this year and the upward trend was continuing.
"This time of year is particularly stressful for parents on low incomes and social welfare. They mightn't always look for help to buy books and uniforms, because they'll put off paying the rent or the ESB for a bit, but down the line, they need help when those bills start to mount."
