Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Any increase to capitation grants would be a matter for the Minister for Education. Free school transport will be a big boost for many families because it costs in the region of €500. That will be a big help to families who were facing that cost. It has been waived for this year so they will not have to worry. That will give them a bit of extra money that they can put towards the other costs of going back to school. To be fair, €260 for a child under 11 and €385 for a child 12 or older represents a good help. The payment was never designed to cover all the costs of going back to school. I understand that this is a very expensive time for parents. I know that. I worked in a credit union and saw it myself. However, as I said, we have increased the rates and provided an extra €26 million this year towards the cost of going back to school.

See this speech in context