Ms Áine Lynch:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend today's meeting. When we received the invitation to make the submission we decided to do a survey of parents to specifically address the questions the committee was asking. The survey was carried out in the two-week period between 20 July and 2 August and received just shy of 1,800 responses. As members have received our submission, I will not go through all of the statistics set out in it. However, I will draw attention to some of the conclusions we have drawn from the survey.

We found that a significant number of parents, 76%, indicated they were asked to pay a voluntary contribution each year to help with school finances. Of those asked to pay a contribution, 73% indicated they received the request directly in writing, which indicates that the general practice is not to request voluntary contributions anonymously. Of those parents who paid the voluntary contribution, 54% said they felt under pressure to pay it.

We feel this raises serious questions as to how voluntary this contribution is in reality. Despite many reassurances by the Department of Education and Skills and Ministers for Education and Skills that this contribution is a voluntary payment and there should be no pressure on parents to pay, these survey results show that is not the reality on the ground. This issue needs to be addressed urgently.

The level of contribution requested is mainly in the region of up to €150, with 81% of parents telling us that is what they paid. However, 118 respondents indicated that they were asked to contribute in excess of €200. There appears to be a lack of transparency or information for some parents on financial issues in the school, with 35% of respondents saying they do not know how the contribution is spent or whether they have access to this information. In a similar vein, only 17% of respondents said that the school made the accounts available to parents, with 45% responding that they did not know whether they had access to this information and 38% stating that they did not have access to the information on the school accounts.

The information about what the voluntary contribution is spent on in schools and whether parents are asked for additional payments beyond the voluntary contribution shows that money provided to schools by parents is being used for day-to-day running costs and facilitating children’s access to the curriculum. This survey would seem to indicate that there is a significant disparity in the funding to primary schools and the costs incurred in delivering a quality education to children. It would appear, therefore, that the capitation grant is insufficient to minimise the need for additional financial contributions by parents and guardians.

A previous witness addressed the impact on schools and parents. We are concerned that this is also having an impact on children in the classroom and on their education. The constant requests for voluntary contributions, money for photocopying or arts and crafts, and all the different things parents are asked for establish a financial rather than an educational relationship between parents and the school. We do not think that should be the case in any situation, particularly for parents who are stressed and struggling to pay the contributions. We know from research that parents' involvement in their children's education and learning is crucial. In early years and primary education especially, their involvement is most crucial in terms of outcomes for children. Research also indicates that what parents do in those early years is more vital than school at that time. If a tense relationship is established around financing in those first few weeks of school, there can be a significant impact on how parents subsequently go into the school to discuss educational matters.