Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

I have heard the response repeatedly. There needs to be an acknowledgement by the Minister and within the Department that there are two things happening here. The first is a funding crisis in our schools overall. There is a massive shortfall. There is an expectation, because the Government is saying it will not bring in a cost-of-living package, that next year will be worse than this year. The second is a shift towards digital technology. It is not small money. In some cases, it is €800 over two years. There are parents who simply cannot afford that. The suggestion that the funding the Minister provides, which is wholly inadequate to cover the running costs of schools, can be used to provide a loan scheme for parents is simply detached from reality. We need a bespoke response for these parents.

The Minister has seen the Irish League of Credit Unions report yesterday in terms of the high cost of going back to school. In fact, the cost is increasing.

Notwithstanding the positive moves on back to school, there needs to be a bespoke response for the small number of parents who are completely exposed to these costs.

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