Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will not repeat much of what Deputy McConalogue has said because while there is a common theme among those working with parents and those working in this area, such as Barnardos and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, there is also a common theme on this side in terms of recognising that there is a need to address it. On the one hand we have a Minister, Department and Government which are cutting resources, including the back-to-school allowances and capitation grants, while on the other hand the Government is washing its hands of some of the possible solutions to try to offset the costs of schools for parents, and that is unacceptable.

Reference was made to the cost of school books. I have spoken to several principals and patron bodies about this issue. I believe patron bodies have a responsibility in all of this as well. Often the patron body gets lost in the debate on back-to-school costs and it is left to the Department and the school board of management, but the patron bodies have a major responsibility to take the lead on this issue and I do not believe they are doing so. We need to say that much loud and clear.

Schools that do not have book rental schemes maintain that they would prefer to have such schemes but that the problem is the significant start-up costs involved. Do the delegations have any comment on that or any experience of it? I imagine the National Parents Council Primary is dealing with schools which may not have official book rental schemes in place but may have alternative arrangements, or perhaps its representatives have spoken to parents from schools that do not have these schemes in place. Will the delegation outline the reasons behind this? One point we frequently hear is that a significant start-up cost is involved. Once a scheme is up and running, those involved can manage it, but the difficulty is to get a scheme up and running. Do the delegations have any solutions to or opinions on that?

Reference was made to voluntary contributions. Let us face it: they are not really voluntary contributions. We all get the letters. I have children in primary, post-primary and higher education. We get letters from my daughter's post-primary school. After reading them one is under the impression that if one did not pay, she would not get a place next year. There are letters seeking to process the child's enrolment for the next academic year and there a request for a voluntary fee of €120 needed by 1 May. It is not needed by the following September but now. This must be addressed. Ms Lynch put the case rather well about the ongoing costs, which are astronomical. These are the costs associated with drama, swimming and no-uniform days. Every week there is something costing either €10, €15 or €20, especially in post-primary education. In primary education these costs may not arise on a weekly or monthly basis, but in secondary schools there are continuing requests for money, whether for Christmas tickets or Easter draws or whatever, and parents are struggling to budget for these costs. Many parents will know that there are uniforms to be got before going back to school and they will try to budget as best they can. However, once the child starts back in school, the ongoing costs are sometimes not budgeted for. They can come out of the blue and these costs are causing parents to struggle.

One submission - I cannot recall which - reported on how parents come up with the money to fund back-to-school costs. The figure for those going to moneylenders was given as 1%. This seems a remarkably low figure. From my experience of dealing with people in my constituency offices and from speaking to parents, it seems a decidedly low figure and I am unsure how accurate it is. My own experience is that the number of parents who go to moneylenders to make up the shortfall involved in sending their children back to school is considerably higher than 1%. That is a frightening development, the likes of which we are seeing more of now, especially cases in which parents are being forced into the hands of illegal moneylenders with all the attendant dangers. I question that particular statistic in the report.

Mr. Finlay put it well when he said there is a fundamental deficit in leadership in this area. There is no doubt there is a fundamental deficit in leadership but it cannot be put solely at the foot of the Minister. All of us, as legislators, must take responsibility for that. I believe there is a need to make the voluntary code of practice mandatory. More can be done on the issue of uniforms but the patron bodies must buy into that process as well and more pressure must be put on them.

I am unsure whether making the school book rental scheme mandatory would work now because of the initial start-up costs. I call on the delegations to respond to that question. I would be keen to hear the ideas of the delegations. Is the initial upfront start-up cost a genuine reason for schools not having a school book rental scheme?