Back to school costs rising - Barnardos [IrishTimes]
- Published: 02 August 2011
The strict criteria surrounding back to school allowances are excluding families who need them, according to Barnardos.
In its annual School Costs Survey, the children’s charity revealed that the average cost of sending a child to junior infants this year is €350, rising to €805 for a student starting secondary school.
Despite the recession, the majority of respondents to the survey of over 500 parents said that this represented a rise in costs.
“My husband is unemployed and I am on minimum wage, yet we still don’t qualify for the (back to school clothing and footwear) allowance,” one parent quoted in the survey said. “It’s disgraceful it is so hard to make sure our children are provided for.”
Another parent complained that it is costing €1,800 to send her three children to school this September. “My husband is currently unemployed and we are really being stretched to meet the costs,” the woman was quoted as saying. “We had to get a loan from the credit union to send our children to school – it’s a joke.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
