20% of parents to borrow €360 for back-to-school bill

Hard-pressed families will be forced to borrow hundreds of euros and put off paying other bills to pay for books, uniforms, and other items to send their children back to school.

One in five parents will borrow an average of €360, according to a survey, which also found one in four will dip into savings, and 12% plan to put some or all of the cost on credit cards.

Another 6% will need to borrow from a credit union or bank, but 2% are planning to go to a moneylender.

The average spend on uniforms and other school clothing is up slightly on last year to €166 for primary pupils, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) survey.

Although there is a slight fall in the average spend on second-level uniforms —down €8 in a year to €258, and from €281 in 2011 — books for older students are expected to cost parents an average of €213. That is up from €166 a year ago, but less than the €238 cost in the same survey four years ago.

As well as incurring extra debts, 19% of parents said they would defer paying a credit card bill, up slightly on last year. Another one in nine expect to delay repayments on existing loans.

In addition, 29% of parents expect to defer paying household bills to fund children’s return to school, one in six say they will sacrifice spending on food, while family holidays and summer camps are also being sacrificed.

National Parents Council-Primary chief executive Áine Lynch said that, while costs have come down and new book rental schemes are in place, concerns remain over the annual hit families have to take.

“I think ultimately the costs are too high. Children go to schools all over the country and they have no uniform and they have no difficulty getting a good education, so I think it is important that uniforms are not imposed,” she said.

The ILCU survey of 1,000 parents also revealed the pressure to make voluntary contributions to schools, a practice Ms Lynch said can impact on the child-teacher relationship. Seven in 10 parents expect to make these payments, an average of €112 per child, down from €119 last year.

“The parents might resent it or it might be that the parents can’t afford it. There could be an embarrassment, pressure, stress,” Ms Lynch said. In some cases, she said, parents have been asked for this on enrolment.

One in four parents believe they are eligible for the Department of Social Protection’s back to school clothing and footwear allowance, although only one in eight said it would be the main way of financing the costs. Of those qualifying, 15% believed it was insufficient to cover back-to-school costs.

ILCU’s Ed Farrell urged parents to shop around for the best value on items like books and uniforms.