Government “out of touch” for bringing back exam fees, Donnelly says

Sinn Féin TD for Dublin West, Paul Donnelly, has called on the Government to reverse its decision to reinstate exam fees for Junior and Leaving Certificate students as households struggle with the cost-of-living pressure.

Donnelly’s call comes as parents started receiving letters requesting payment of the fees over the last forty-eight hours.

Donnelly said, “the last thing parents need is another bill landing in their door.”

Parents have reported that they are being asked to pay €109 per Junior Cert student and €116 per Leaving Cert student, despite exam fees being abolished in 2020 during the pandemic.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael chose to reinstate these exam fees in October’s budget, fully aware of the pressure on working households due to rising prices and big bills,” Donnelly said.

“These letters are landing at a time when people are being hammered by rapid increases in fuel costs, families are struggling to fill their cars and heat their homes, they’re watching every euro, and now the government comes to squeeze them even more,” he said.

He said that the move to bring back exam fees “demonstrates again that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are completely out of touch with the pressure people are under, and clueless about the daily miracles parents perform to stretch the household budget and keep the show on the road.”

“The government overnment easily finds the money to gift generous tax breaks to big developers and corporate landlords. So, they should be able to find the money needed to abolish state exam fees,” he stated.

“I am calling on the Minister to reverse this decision immediately, scrap state exam fees, and give families a break.”