Families spend €400 per child for new school year

IRISH families will spend about €400 on each child getting them ready to go back to school.

The survey of 1,000 people by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) found that, on average, school uniforms with shoes (€229) and schoolbooks (€182) are the biggest related expenses for parents.

Parents of a primary school child were found to pay €125 for schoolbooks while parents of a child in secondary school forked out nearly twice that (€238).

Uniform costs for a secondary student were €281 compared to €177 for a primary pupil.

Parents are spending around €470 for a second-level student and €320 for a primary pupil.

The study found that three-quarters of parents were asked to make voluntary contributions of €130 on average, while nine out of 10 parents want to see classrooms switch to laptops and e-books to save money.

In terms of financing back-to-school necessities, parents, 46% of those surveyed said they used their monthly income to fund their purchases.

However, 54% had to locate finances for going back to school from elsewhere — credit cards (16%), savings (13%), back to school allowance (12%) and credit unions (7%).

Parents of secondary-level children were more likely to dip into their savings (15%) or use credit cards (20%).

Almost two-thirds of parents (65%) admitted that back-to-school costs would adversely impact their holiday plans and bills management, while eight in 10 parents, who are entitled for back-to-school allowance, admitted that this is insufficient.

Commenting on the research findings, chief executive of the ILCU Kieron Brennan said parents should shop around for better value when it comes to back-to-school necessities.

“The cost of school-going children to parents is considerable and can put significant pressure on household budgets.

“This iReach research shows us that there are significant numbers of parents using their credit cards and using their savings to pay for their child’s back-to-school needs, with many parents feeling that the back-to-school allowance is not sufficient to cover costs,” he said.