€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.

But in order to avoid debt, more than 40% are instead scrimping on other living expenses by postponing bill payments.

One parent wrote that they were sick worrying about how to pay for this year’s back-to-school costs.

“All of our household bills are increasing, the only thing left to cut back on is food. We do try and save but it’s just impossible in this society,” said the parent.

While the trends are familiar from past years, Mr Finlay said the Government has the power to reduce the burden on parents in this year’s budget.

“For just €103m, it could provide all primary school books, remove the voluntary contribution, eliminate classroom resource fees, restore the capitation rates back to 2010 levels and provide free transport for those using the school transport scheme,” he said.

Barnardos said a further €127m a year would make second-level education free for all children within three years.

The survey shows the average cost of uniforms, books, transport and school charges largely in line with last year, and slightly less for younger primary pupils.

The amounts being paid for schoolbooks are down slightly to €75 for senior infants, but up €15 on last year to €105 for fourth-class pupils.

For first years, average book costs are down 10% on 2015, but still amount to €290 per student.

The charity is also seeking the incremental restoration to 2011 rates for the Department of Social Protection’s back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, aimed at helping poorer families with uniform costs.

The survey finds these costs are down slightly to between €140 and €150 for primary pupils, and €10 more than a year ago for second-level students at €265.

The Government payments have been cut by €100 per child to €100 for those aged up to 11, and by the same amount to €200 for older students. But the charity said an extra €14m in October’s budget would allow an increase of €50 per child next year .

Last month, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar declined to say if the payment would be increased, saying it would have to be considered as part of the overall budget discussions.

Voluntary contributions remain a cause of frustration to parents, varying hugely between schools but averaging around €90 for primary pupils and remaining around €150 for students at second-level.

While many of the costs like uniforms, booklists and voluntary contributions vary hugely and depend on individual school policies, Barnardos said it is not fair to lay all the blame on schools.

“They have faced cut after cut in recent years and many are struggling to make ends meet. It is the Department of Education, and ultimately the Government, which has the responsibility to deliver free education to all children in Ireland,” said its head of advocacy, June Tinsley.

The cost of restoring the Department of Education capitation grants paid to all schools for running costs to pre-recession is estimated at an extra €17m a year.

A difficulty cited in the past about restoring the amounts paid is that the total cost to Government has not fallen because schools receive a fixed amount per student and the number of children enrolled in schools has been continuing to rise.

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