Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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511. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has ever issued guidelines to schools on uniform policy and specifically on the provision of generic school uniforms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26217/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. However, I am keen to keep back to school costs as low as possible for parents. In late 2013, as part of an initiative in this area, schools were requested to ballot parents on school uniform policy. This move was aimed at giving parents a say on what, if any, uniforms a school should have and, in turn, to tackle the high costs of some uniforms.

In keeping with the DES Action and Strategy Statement just released, the Department does plan to issue a new Circular to school authorities and ETBs regarding school uniform policy, and the need to put a greater emphasis on the need to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs. The views of the National Parent Councils and other partners will be considered and will feed into the development of the Circular. This Action is slated for Q4 2016-Q1 2017.

My objective is to empower parents to have a greater say in their children's school uniform policy, thereby allowing for the maximum choice and diversity. The Parents and Learners Charter will allow for consultation about this and other matters.