Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to be clear that section 64 of the Education Act, added to by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, explicitly prohibits the charging of admission and enrolment fees in our schools. No fee can be charged for instruction in any subject that is on the school curriculum. There is absolutely no charge for education from that point of view. The Deputy referred to schools that might face challenges. I want to be clear, as I articulated earlier, that significant funding is available to schools. We have seen increases in student capitation of more than 7.5% in the last couple of years. We have seen €90 million extra being made available, with a 40% uplift in the capitation fees being paid to schools. Regarding voluntary contributions, I want to be clear that there is absolutely no compulsion on parents and guardians to provide any type of contribution to the school. It is explicitly underlined in section 64 of the Education Act that education in its purest sense is free of charge.

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