Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

Some of the parents in our school system are having to act like fundraisers because the schools are not fully funded. I know the Government has increased the capitation grant, which is welcome. However, having spoken to many different schools, DEIS schools in particular, I know that fundraising is very difficult because families are struggling with general day-to-day costs. The same is true in special schools. Parents are exhausted from the level of care needs. At what point in the future will we be able to get rid of these voluntary contributions altogether? They are there to help schools. We would love for the funding raised to pay for the icing-on-the-cake stuff but it is the bread-and-butter stuff the money is covering, including the heating, lighting and all that stuff. At what point will we be able to eliminate that altogether and be fully funded? I totally appreciate everything that has been said about budgets-----

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