Families of pupils over 18 face €102 water fee

Parents of at least 25,000 secondary school students will be hit with €102 per child in water charges from October, placing an extra burden on families already struggling with education costs.

The National Parents Council-Post Primary is calling on the Government to exempt all school-goers from the charge, saying the extra burden could force poorer students to drop out of school.

It says that second-level pupils who turn 18 fall between two stools of not benefiting from allowances available for children, while not being entitled to adult social welfare — such as dole or rent allowance — unless they give up school.