Simple message: School’s too expensive

IT’S not rocket science — school costs too much.

This is the simple message the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) social justice team has been trying to get across to those in a position to do something about it. Our most recent target was the joint Oireachtas committee, which has just placed a report on the costs of school in the minister for education’s in-tray.

To be fair, the minister himself has been receptive and enthusiastic about our campaigning. But how many mandarins in a government department does it take to work out that we have the solutions to the various problems which cause hardship to parents? What we need now is action and accountability.