Back-to-school costs set to trigger deluge of calls to charities

A Galway charity at the coalface in the fight against poverty is braced for a deluge of calls from cash-strapped parents in the coming weeks as children prepare to return to school.

A spokesperson for the St Vincent de Paul admitted they are expecting a “flood of applications” for help as the new school year approaches – in a week that the Credit Unions revealed parents are forking out over €400 a month for every dependent in third level education.

Worried parents of primary school pupils are facing bills of around €350 for a child in senior infants, €400 for a child in Fourth Class and €785 for a child starting secondary school.

The biggest cost facing parents continue to be books and uniforms, while voluntary contributions and transport costs also apply significant pressure.

“We are expecting a flood of applications for assistance in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson for the SVP in Galway said.

Meanwhile, the charity’s Social Justice and Policy Officer Audry Deane said: “School costs too much. Our members know at first-hand how the ongoing costs of education grinds many families down and parents are growing impatient at the lack of progress in tackling these costs.

“For example, the costs of crested uniforms, unnecessary changes to school books, the emergence of digital tools, which in some schools has fuelled a rush to high end tablets, expensive and educationally dubious school trips, ‘voluntary’ contributions, booking deposits and extra-curricular activities,” said Ms Deane.

A nationwide survey published by children’s charity Barnardos found that books are the single biggest cost for parents.

However, there is no consistency in cost, with books for a Fourth Class child costing €70 in some schools and €130 in others.

Many mentioned the high cost of workbooks which cannot be passed down to siblings or resold.

The report also found that 74% of parents of primary pupils and 97% of secondary pupils have to buy uniforms with school crests, adding greatly to the expense.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.