Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

The report of the Barnardos 2025 back to school survey indicated that the average price of uniforms was €126 for a primary school uniform and €119 for a secondary school uniform.

Many parents have just paid out for these uniforms, but they are facing additional costs as well in January. Children grow and play and a lot of the time, these uniforms have to be replaced. That is an additional cost.

I know parents who have had to go to the credit union to get loans to send their kids back to school. They had to borrow money off family or friends to get their kids back to school. I know parents who have had to go to money lenders to get money to get their kids back to school because things are so tight now with this current cost-of-living crisis that every penny or euro counts for the vast majority of people. Think of the parents who are living in overcrowded emergency accommodation. How are they going to wash uniforms? I raise the pressure that is being put on them to get their kids out the door every morning in the proper attire. There are some shops with a monopoly. Parents are paying out vast sums of money when they should have more choice. There should be more flexibility. It should be easy for people to buy uniforms for their children, not putting a barrier of costs in the way. What we are looking to do is to support parents, families and children.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission recognises that there is a monopoly and it is costing parents money. Barnardos found that 54% of parents were worried about the cost of their children going back to school. At the same time, schools are worried about their heating bills. Parents are paying out for everything, for example, school transport and iPads that are not being covered by the Government. That was an easy way to take pressure off parents. We are coming forward with solutions for people. The Government should be backing us. We should be working together here. Why does it always put barriers in place when we are trying to support ordinary people?

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