Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)

I wish to start by saying that I am a strong supporter of schools having uniforms. It takes a lot of pressure off families and it keeps the fashion shows and the competition out of schools. It is a leveller. Every time parents are asked about school uniforms, survey results always say they support a uniform. We are in a cost-of-living crisis and everything is getting more expensive, however. Every September, parents are worrying about the cost of getting their kids back to school. They are using their savings and, in some cases, they are borrowing to ensure costs are covered.

In some schools, we have a situation where there is no competition when it comes to a parent buying a school uniform. We all know the story. Parents get a letter from the school telling them that the uniforms have to come from a specific shop and that no other brand or version is acceptable. That is the case for secondary school uniforms in particular. Parents with a daughter – I am speaking for myself in this instance – have to buy a skirt, blouses, jumpers, PE tracksuit and school coats, which are all branded. This costs big money. The Minister of State will understand that these costs add up for parents who have two or three children in that school. That is before we even talk about schools where students need iPads or tablets.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, looked at this earlier in the year and found that three quarters of schools had branded items that could only be bought from a recommended retailer. The Minister of State and I know that leads to higher costs. A simple way to reduce costs for parents is through giving them more choice when it comes to buying school uniforms. We need to switch to generic jumpers and make iron-on or sew-on crests the norm. Back in 2017, the then Minister issued a circular addressing some of these issues, looking for iron-on crests and generic items, etc. I am absolutely surprised to say that the Minister of State is not supporting the Bill that actually details what was said in 2017. Here we are seven years on and nothing has changed and there is still a massive cost on parents buying school uniforms. This Bill we are debating is very clear. Schools needs to have it written down. It needs to be a proper policy.

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