Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— primary and post primary education in this State is intended to be "free" under the Constitution and in legislation, but the reality is profoundly different;

— the cost-of-living crisis continues to put parents and students under significant financial pressure;

— according to the most recent Irish League of Credit Unions "back to school costs" survey, the funding of back to school continues to be a challenge for parents, with 66 per cent saying that covering the cost of back to school is a financial burden; and

— school books remain one of the most expensive items for parents of secondary school children, with an average associated cost per pupil of approximately €210 per year;

further notes with concern the Government's intention to increase Third-level student fees this coming September;

agrees that the cost should not be a barrier to accessing further and higher education, and student fees should be phased out completely; and

calls on the Government to:

— cancel the planned increase to student contributions charges and instead reduce fees further in order to work towards the elimination of student contribution charges; and

— expand the Free Schoolbook Grant Scheme to secondary schools in Budget 2024.

There is an appalling legacy of underfunding by successive Governments in the education sector. It is this political refusal that has led to our schools becoming overreliant on parental funding to bridge unacceptable gaps. Primary and post-primary education in this State is intended to be free under the Constitution and legislation but the reality is profoundly different. The results of this are parents scrimping, saving and cutting back on everyday essential items and students losing out and being excluded. Last October, the OECD's Education at a Glance report stated clearly that Ireland lags way behind when it comes to investing in education as a measure of GDP. This is beyond shameful.

It is an issue that is raised with me time and again by all stakeholders in education that I engage with. Teacher unions are again highlighting the need for urgent additional investment. Barnardos, the Irish League of Credit Unions and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are all saying the same thing, which is that education is rapidly becoming an unrealistic cost and schools are struggling to keep doors open and lights on in warm classrooms. For many in our community, these education costs are a bigger worry this year as the cost of living continues to rise. As rents, mortgages, fuel, utility and food bills get higher and higher, more families will struggle to meet what can be eye-watering costs. There are things the Government can and must do to ease the pressure on parents and students but it needs to act now.

The Government can and should be doing more on back-to-school costs. It can and should extend the schoolbooks scheme to post-primary schools, to take at least that one meaningful step to ease the financial burden on parents of post-primary students who are worried about back-to-school costs now, when the month of June has not yet passed.

Free education is a myth. The issue is becoming one of equality. For parents and students at all levels, particularly at post-primary, the return to school is fast approaching. They are already trying to budget for those additional costs, for everything from uniforms to devices, from books to transport. On top of that, parents are asked to pay hundreds of euro in so-called voluntary contributions because of that legacy of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's failure to properly fund our schools. Each and every one of those costs will be felt sharply, putting already hard-pressed parents in avoidable difficult positions. The most recent Irish League of Credit Unions back-to-school costs survey found that funding going back to school continues to be a challenge for parents, with 66% saying that covering the cost of going back to school is a financial burden. Parents do not use words like that lightly. They do not say things like that lightly. Schoolbooks remain one of the most expensive items for parents of post-primary children, with an average associated cost per pupil of approximately €210.

The Sinn Féin motion this evening calls on the Government to cancel the planned increase in student contribution charges and to expand the schoolbook grant scheme to secondary schools in budget 2024. We have long called for the introduction of free schoolbooks for all schoolchildren for many years, because they are one of the most expensive items that parents have as an annual cost. They are essential to learning and where there is a substantial cost, meeting that cost becomes a barrier to education, as has been shown in repeated findings by the Irish League of Credit Unions and others. While the Government has moved somewhat in budget 2023 with regard to schoolbooks for primary schools, it inexcusably chose not to extend this measure to post-primary schools, where schoolbooks cost significantly more. We in Sinn Féin believe education must be genuinely free and accessible to all. That means starting by expanding the schoolbooks scheme to post-primary schools and stopping the increase for the third level student contribution.

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