Back-to-school grants - Figures tell a grim story

THAT almost 200,000 children from 88,000 families need government help to buy clothes and shoes so they can go back to school is an indictment of our affluent society.

That there are 10,000 more applicants looking for help than there were last year is an indication of how quickly the economic downturn has had an impact. Lest you imagine that this is some sort of social welfare free-for-all, households earning more than a paltry €375 a week are supported under the scheme.

Though €46m will be spent the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul said the payments are not enough. SVP also said it received almost 12,000 calls this year compared with 8,000 last year. There are about 750,000 people in first and second-level education. That more than one in four of those pupils feels entitled to this grant paints a very grim picture of our post-Celtic Tiger society.