Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My ambition is to make the education and training service the best within a decade. To deliver on my ambition to be the best, we have to improve information and complaint procedures for parents and students, particularly in relation to costs.

I want to give parents a strong voice in ensuring costs are always kept to a minimum. My Department recently published circular 32/2017, which details the measures to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs. The publication of this circular was one of the actions outlined in the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019.

Schools have to do everything possible to keep costs down for parents, including the use of generic items, sew-on or iron-on crests and making sure that various elements of the uniform can be purchased in multiple stores. In the Action Plan for Education I have committed to the restoration of capitation payments. In restoring capitation payments, where schools have introduced these cost-effective principles, they will receive a premium capitation payment.

Full transparency in the use of any voluntary contributions is important information for parents to have.

The parent and student charter will require every school to set out a financial statement, which will include information on how voluntary contributions are used. This is part of a suite of measures I am introducing, including the school admissions Bill, which will reform information and procedures around the process of school enrolment and the commencement of fitness to teach, which, for the first time, will allow a complaint to be made about a registered teacher to the Teaching Council.

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