Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing forward this extremely important motion. Back-to-school costs each year shamefully expose the deep divide that exists in our society between rich and poor. What sickens me to the stomach at this time of the year is thinking of children who are all too aware of what their parents are facing and what they have to struggle with, and they can do little about it aside from suffer anxiety, fear and, in many cases, even embarrassment.

The measures proposed by Sinn Féin in the motion - increasing the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, extending the allowance to middle income earners, rolling out a fully free books scheme, allowing universal affordable school uniforms and reducing school transport fees - are desperately needed. I am glad that the Government has woken up to the reality of what going back to school actually costs. By all means, I welcome some of the proposals. They might not have gone far enough, but I urge the Minister to implement them as soon as possible. I am glad the Government has responded to the pressure from this side of the House.

I have listened to a number of debates on this issue. The one that hits me very hard, and I even have an email with me about it, is the voluntary contributions. The Minister said in her opening statement that, "No charge may be made...". The word "may" is very weak. It should be no charge "will" be made. It causes a lot of hassle. I say that because it is probably the most cruel charge on parents and children. They cannot hide from it at any time. We have all heard the stories about children not getting lockers because money has been held back. I suspect that is going to happen unless we strengthen it.

I make an appeal to everybody in the education sector to be extra sensitive in this year of all years. People, families and children are struggling. It hits everybody. The big worry I have is the impact on vulnerable children and their families. They could be psychologically scarred. Many times we do not get on very well on either side of the House, but we can come to agreement on this issue.

I commend Deputy Ó Laoghaire on the motion and the amount of work that went into it. These are not ideas; they are solutions. It is to be hoped this country will have one of the best education systems in a number of years.

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