Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague Senator Ó Ríordáin and his Labour Party colleagues on the Bill. It is an excellent idea but it also brings to attention words we do not like to use in the Chamber in the context of the ideological differences between us. In 1979, when I came home as a 13 year old child, my father had just retired as a factory worker and my mother was the same. I remember the shock when I turned up in school expecting to be given books. How naive was I? In London, books were provided whereas the teacher here told me that I had to buy the textbooks and the notebooks in which I would write. Interestingly, there were not so many voluntary contributions in the 1970s and early 1980s that I can remember but they have become completely de rigueurat this stage.

I examined some of the figures Bernardos provided last year. Each year, Barnardos conducts a survey in respect of this matter. Last year it found that it costs more than €360 to send a senior infant child to school and, at an average of €765, significantly more for a first year pupil. It also found that 11% of primary school parents and 21% of secondary school parents - one in five - are forced to borrow money to cover the costs. The interesting thing is that Fergus Finlay went on to state that €103 million would be enough to make education free in this country. It is really about choices.

I mean my next point respectfully. My colleagues in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael spoke about the good work that goes on, and I acknowledge this, but surely the first choice we should make as a republic is to believe in free education and implement it. It would not cost the earth but it would mean making different choices. We cannot choose to continue to give tax cuts to the wealthy while turning our backs on children and parents who cannot afford these fees. I know of subtle but clear pressures on parents with regard to the need to pay these fees which, as I have said, are quite substantial.

Senator Ó Ríordáin made the very good point that the potential embarrassment because of not paying the fee would make parents less likely to go to a parent-teacher evening. I do not suggest that teachers would take it out on those parents, quite the opposite, frankly, but it is naturally-----