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

We raise this issue at this time every year. Students are no sooner out of school on their summer holidays than parents start to worry and fret about the cost of sending them back to school at the end of August and the start of September. The Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, may be aware of the recent publication of a survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

It indicates the financial pressures parents find themselves under when sending their children back to school. I acknowledge that there were some positives in that report. For example, the cost of sending a child back to primary school has reduced from €122 to €116. However, the cost of sending a child to post-primary school has risen significantly.

When one looks at the report and listens to what parents tell us, it is clear this is a huge issue. A total of 70% of the parents surveyed said that the cost of sending their children back to school will negatively impact on their ability to pay basic household bills. Furthermore, 16% of families who responded said that they will have to sacrifice spending on food to meet the costs of sending their children back to school. A total of 16% of families in this State who are sending children back to school face the situation of having to reduce their grocery bills to meet back to school costs.

The education committee has examined this issue and put forward recommendations. While I agree with the Minister on many matters, I have said from that outset that when I believe she is not doing enough to tackle an issue I will call her out on it. She is not doing enough on this issue. To be honest, she is not doing anything about it. She has put the responsibility back on the shoulders of parents to lobby the boards of management in respect of back to school costs. That is simply not good enough. The Oireachtas Library & Research Service research unit did a research paper on this for me. It states, and the education committee and I agree, that the Minister has statutory powers under the Education Act 1998 to make recommendations on this or any issue which affects schools. In fact, a previous Fianna Fáil Minister made recommendations in 2008 on the issue of school uniforms.

School uniforms are one of the huge costs in sending children back to school. Another is the cost of school books. On top of that there is the cost of voluntary contributions, which average €112. In my experience as a parent, many of these voluntary contributions are not voluntary. In many cases students who do not pay the voluntary contribution do not have access to lockers, libraries and other school facilities. There is nothing voluntary about these contributions.

In recent years there has been a decrease in capitation grants for schools. Schools are trying to operate on less funding with more students and they are unable to make ends meet. The burden is falling back onto the shoulders of parents. The Minister must confront this issue.

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