Third-level costs - Pressure on families must ease

The Irish League of Credit Unions today published its survey into the cost of third-level education in Ireland. This is on top of an earlier survey in 2011.

The survey highlights the challenges posed by educational costs on parents and students, along with the impact of obtaining necessary finances, living away from home, course choice, and job prospects. Almost 44,000 of the 55,300 students due to receive their Leaving Certificate results tomorrow have already applied to the Central Applications Office for a college place. Many of their parents worry about how they are going to afford it.

The credit union body warns that many families are under stress to meet the cost of ensuring their children receive a proper education. Most of the older generations probably remember hearing their parents or grandparents, stressing the importance of completing secondary school. But now the same thing is being stressed about third-level qualifications.