A NEW Limerick-based advocacy group, claim that many low-income families in the city are forced to resort to money-lenders to finance rising school costs.
Founded by members of the Limerick Homeless Alliance, the Children’s Voices collective maintain that the cost of preparing children and teenagers for the return to school is a worrying burden for low-income families throughout the Mid-West.
Rosemarie Fitzgerald, a founding member of Children’s Voices said September is a particularly difficult time for families, who can become overwhelmed with the cost of fitting out children for their return to school.
“Recent figures reveal that the cost of returning to school ranges from €350 to €390 per child attending primary school and reaches €770 per teenager entering second level education. These costs do not include transport, sports equipment or extra-curricular activities,” said Ms Fitzgerald.
“For large, low-income families the burden becomes unmanageable,” she warned.
They insist there is an urgent need for a united voice to campaign for the rights and needs of Limerick city children. For the 157 children with whom Children’s Voices are working with, more than two-thirds are of school-going age.
Anne Cronin, Head of Homeless Services with Novas Initiatives, commented, “For these families, their income just doesn’t stretch to cover back-to-school costs, they are already struggling to keep a roof over their head and this additional burden can force families to resort to borrowing money on the black market, with huge repayment interest rates. Back-to-school costs are exacerbating the situation for already overburdened families.”
Members of Children’s Voices are now urging the Government to reinstate the full back-to-school allowance to marginalised families that have no other means of paying the cost.
“The payment is now €100 for a child up to 11 years of age and €200 thereafter, which clearly does not meet the exorbitant costs. We also urge schools to reduce or eliminate family contributions, reuse text books and keep the costs of uniforms to a minimum,” said Ms Cronin.
