Quarter of families will get into debt over school costs, survey finds

Parents are now spending an average of €1,152 per primary school child and €1,288 per child in post-primary.

More families than last year see the new school year as a considerable financial burden, despite the introduction of a new free schoolbooks schemefor primary schools from September.

According to the latest Irish League of Credit Unions (ICLU) survey, cost-of-living increases are continuing to hit parents' budgeting for back-to-school time, with families planning to cut back or get into debt to cover the cost of educating their children.