Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline, regarding payments requested from parents for children in primary school, if a school may charge a mandatory fee; if the amount being charged in a school (details supplied) is acceptable; if the full fee is not paid, whether the school can withhold group activities like tin-whistle lessons from a child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38373/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, 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.

Section 64 of the Education (Admissions to schools) Act 2018 explicitly prohibits the charging of admission and enrolment fees for admission to, or for continued enrolment in a school.

No mandatory charge or fee may be levied on parents or pupils in respect of instruction in any subject of the school curriculum where all pupils are expected to take part. A school may, however, seek payment to cover the cost of photocopying or other such learning materials where the amount sought by the school is consistent with the costs involved and the level of materials provided. It is also permissible for a school to seek payments in respect of extra-curricular activities provided such activities are not obligatory and individual pupils can choose whether or not to participate. No pupil should be disadvantaged in their learning due to the non-payment of fees.

Voluntary contributions by parents of pupils enrolled in recognised schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no requirement to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition.

If a parent is concerned about a requested payment, they can contact the school to discuss. Schools should support parents that are struggling to pay, through offering different methods of payment options including instalments, or fee waivers considering the individual circumstance. Should a parent be unsatisfied by the response they can contact the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school in relation to their concerns.

The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, general up-keep, waste disposal etc. and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the board of management can allocate according to its own priorities.

Education measures announced in Budget 2025 included a significant increase in school funding with state funding per pupil – known as the capitation rate – increasing from €200 to €224 per student in primary schools and from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary schools. This 12 per cent increase to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs will cost €30 million. This builds on increases provided in the previous year's Budget, which is resulting in a 22% increase over 2 years in the level of capitation rates paid to schools. An additional €45 million in cost-of-living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme was also announced to help them deal with increased costs.

Back-to-school costs can be a burden for families. Removing the cost of schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for pupils and students up to Junior Cycle has been shown to be a huge step in addressing the cost of sending children to school. Further funding of €51 million was allocated in Budget 2025 to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to students in transition and senior cycle years, meaning the scheme will now support 940,000 pupils and students in primary, special and post-primary schools in the free education scheme.

An additional €58 million in funding for the School Transport Scheme is being allocated to school transport services to allow for continued reduced transport fees, while exemptions from exam fees for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students are also being kept in place for families next year. These measures will continue to reduce the cost of sending children to schools.