Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)

I welcome this debate on an issue with which we are all very familiar, either as parents or as public representatives. Back-to-school costs are a major source of anxiety for parents every year, particularly when uniforms demanded by some schools are at the higher end of the cost scale. It was noted on First Stage that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and Barnardos have indicated that back-to-school costs average €725 for primary school and €1,000 for secondary school pupils. It is concerning that just 14% of respondents to the Barnardos survey said their school had an affordable school uniform option, while 92% said their school required crested or branded uniform items.

My concern in respect of the Bill is that unless we are very careful, we may end up producing the very situation we are trying to avoid in terms of costs.

For example, what would happen when in determining the threshold costs for a school uniform, we arrived at a cost that was more expensive than the traditional cost for any given school? While a standardised series of costs may end up reducing expenses for some parents, it may actually increase expenses for other parents.

We need to be very careful about how we approach this issue. That being said, I will support the Bill because as the issues arise, I know we will have the opportunity to amend on Committee Stage, if necessary.

See this speech in context