Government must “step up” to address back to school costs says Ó Ríordáin

Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said that Minister for Education Norma Foley needs to “step up and address runaway back-to-school costs” following the publication of a Barnardos survey that found that 24% of secondary school parents said they had to take out a loan or borrow money to meet the costs of returning to school.

Ó Ríordáin, who also serves as Labour’s spokesperson on education, said the Barnardos survey is “galling.”

“This Government constantly tells us we have money to spare, we’re at full employment, yet when it comes to the practicalities, they are utterly failing.”

“Yesterday, the Taoiseach announced a plan to end child poverty. This will not be worth the paper it is written on unless serious funding is provided to education in Budget 2024 to level the playing field and make education genuinely free for every child in Ireland.”

“The costs seem to be endless, crested uniforms, pens, copybooks, lunches, school bags, ‘voluntary’ contribution fees and school books for children at secondary school level.”

“Fine Gael are all talk when it comes to economic fairness,” he claimed.

“All the wind has gone out of the tax cut kite-flying we saw in May, “which is a claim echoed by Labour leader Ivana Bacik.

The Dublay North TD said “we need tax monies spent better by making all school books and learning materials free.”

Ó Ríordáin floated the idea of making all school books free, with an annual cost of €85 million across the entire school system.

The notion of making school books free was floated by Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore in July.

“Families are struggling and they need a break and assurance that this government will give their child every opportunity to thrive, regardless of their economic circumstances. As the Barnardos survey shows, hard-working parents simply cannot cut back any more,” Ó Ríordáin said.

“Labour has long campaigned for the abolition of so-called voluntary contribution fees. It puts undue pressure on families and it is unclear precisely what the funds are used for throughout schools.

Speaking in 2019, Ó Ríordáin said that voluntary contribution scheme are “fees in disguise,” and should be banned.

At the time, Ó Ríordáin noted that the Irish Constitution made a commitment to free primary education.

A Society of St. Vincent De Paul survey that was published earlier this year noted in its key findings that the practice of voluntary contribution fees led to “many parents reporting extreme financial difficulties in trying to pay for their children’s education, and specifically cited the expectations to pay the voluntary contribution charges.”