Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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72. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the cost of education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38065/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I strongly support any measures that can be put in place to reduce costs for parents.

To deliver on my ambition to be the best we have to improve information and complaint procedures for parents and students, particularly in relation to costs.

I want to give parents a strong voice in ensuring costs are always kept to a minimum. My Department published Circular Letter 32/2017 which details the measures to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs. The publication of this Circular was one of the actions outlined in the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019.

Schools have to do everything possible to keep costs down for parents, including the use of generic items, sew on or iron on crests, and making sure that various elements of the uniform can be purchased in multiple stores.

In the Action Plan for Education I have committed to the restoration of capitation payments and increasing the financial support for book rental schemes, in order to reduce or eliminate school book costs for parents. However, I must be prudent in the context of ongoing budgetary pressures and prioritise where it is not possible to do everything that I would like to do in the education sector in any one year.

I believe that full transparency in relation to the use of any voluntary contributions is important information for parents to have. The Parent and Student Charter will require every school to set out a financial statement, which will include information on how any voluntary contributions are used.

This is part of a suite of measures including legislation regarding School Admissions which is intended to reform information and procedures around the process of school enrolment, and the commencement of fitness to teach, which for the first time allows a complaint to be made about a registered teacher to the Teaching Council.

My colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, has also increased the back to school allowance by €2.1m this year, bringing the total investment in the scheme to €49.5m.

I believe that these actions will significantly strengthen the focus on reducing school costs for parents.