Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If there is one thing we absolutely agree on it is that back-to-school is really expensive for families, and so is back-to-college. That is why there is an increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance which will be paid from next week. It is why there is an increased SUSI grant for those going to third level and is why we changed the rules only in the last few weeks to allow students to earn more over the summer without affecting their grant. These are changes that are taking effect over the course of the summer. However, I acknowledge, particularly in respect of back-to-school, that when we made those changes on budget day, we anticipated inflation being much lower than it is now. For that reason, the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath, Humphreys and Foley, have been in discussions today and yesterday to see if we can do anything to enhance the back-to-school package, acknowledging that September will come too late for back-to-school. That work is under way.

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