€100m school costs put families in crisis

An extra €100 million of Government spending could prevent families getting into debt over the €400 cost of getting each primary pupil back to school every year, children’s charity Barnardos has said.

The €775 cost of sending a child to first year at second-level or the nearly €400 for a fourth-class pupil are all avoidable, said Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay.

The charity’s annual back- to-school costs survey found that one-in-10 families are borrowing from friends or family or taking out loans to cover these costs.