WITH the results of the Barnardos Back to School Costs Survey indicating that families with two or three children are hit with school costs running to thousands of euros, Cllr Maurice Quinlivan is calling on Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan to address this issue as a matter of urgency.
Now in its ninth year, Barnardos surveyed 2,000 parents and concluded that back-to-school time is hugely stressful for families as they worry about how to pay for all that is required.
Sinn Féin councillor for City North, Maurice Quinlivan, maintains the idea of free education in Ireland is a myth and pointed out that the local Minister for Education now has a responsibility to address the issues.
“Parents are either buying school books or paying for book rental schemes which often charge very high amounts. Previous Ministers didn’t do anything to introduce rules to allow for generic school uniforms despite having the power to do so. This change would clearly help hard pressed families,” Cllr Quinlivan suggested.
According to the Sinn Féin party leader on the merged Limerick City and County Council, children from lower income families often miss out on school trips and extra-curricular activities simply because their families cannot afford to pay for them.
“We have called for the regulation of voluntary contributions and the fact is, regardless of rules already in place, children are again often excluded when their parents can’t pay by having lockers withheld and being prevented from accessing after-school activities and other events,” claimed Cllr Quinlivan.
Ultimately, he said, voluntary contributions must be eradicated.
“Schools should not be forced to plug the funding gap from the state by pressuring parents for extra cash. Sinn Féin has previously called for the removal of 23 per cent VAT on school ebooks and the government ignored it,” Cllr Quinlivan concluded.
