Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions. It is a pity that neither the Minister nor any Government representative was available to listen to them. I pay tribute to Senator Ruane who said all that needs to be said regarding the voluntary contribution. As they say, sometimes we have to walk the walk to talk the talk. From her experience and those of her friends, Senator Ruane certainly nailed the issue for me, for which I thank and compliment her. Ms Lynch also touched on that issue when she spoke of the effect of voluntary contributions on parents who are not in a position to make them and on their relationship with teachers and principals. It is very sad to think that this happens.

We could divide this meeting into two parts, the first of which concerned putting schools under a magnifying glass to determine what we can do to alleviate the financial burden placed on parents by costs such as the cost of school uniforms. There may be a body of work to be done on that.

Returning to relationships, I appreciate the pressure felt by school principals. If they are receiving a capitation grant that does not even cover half the costs of running a school and are sweating about how they will pay the oil and lighting bills, it adds pressure and, unfortunately, that pressure spreads to all stakeholders, which is disappointing. This brings us full circle to who is providing the funding and the Minister or Government of the day.

The voluntary contribution has to cease immediately. It is not fair on those who are unable to pay. Human nature being what it is, there are those who could pay who will not pay, and that is not fair either. The system, no matter what way one looks at it, does not work and needs to be halted immediately.

Who we think of here is the child. Education, as we all know, can change everyone's life and it is depressing to think there are children who, purely for financial reasons, will not be able to achieve what they possibly could. That is something that we need to tackle immediately.

Mr. Farrell outlined that parents who find themselves in financial difficulties, be it with school costs or whatever, do not know that the credit union service is available, and maybe there is work to be done there. If a parent or anyone else coming to a credit union for financial assistance of a relatively small nature is in difficulty or if such a person's financial history is not all that it could be, does that close the door to him or her receiving assistance? Mr. Farrell might answer that question.

I was struck by what Ms McDermott said about lone parents. The task they face is even steeper. When compared with the so-called "normal family", they are on the back foot from the get-go. That must be addressed as well.

On the VAT on ebooks, the absence of VAT on books raises the question as to why there is VAT on ebooks. There are two parts to this issue, the first of which relates to the schools. I ask that perhaps they could look at what they could do to lower the cost. From the point of view of the Department, we certainly will do our part in the report we will compile. The witnesses are pushing an open door in respect of everyone on this committee. Politically, we may have our different views, but I will not go there today. As Senator Gavan will understand, I will leave that for another day.

Unfortunately, there is nobody here from the Government side to listen to this. That is not being political but at the same time, it is disappointing.