Crowe Welcomes Barnardos School Uniform Call

Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has welcomed children’s charity Barnardos call for the new Minister for Education to tackle the huge back to school costs particularly the outrageous cost of some school uniforms.

Crowe was responding to a recently published Barnardos report, which again found that parents are increasingly struggling to cope with the high cost of sending their children back to school.

Deputy Crowe said:

“Many parents are beginning the expensive task of sourcing new school books, new school uniforms and other school essentials.

“The Back to School Allowance available to a small cohort of families is not fit for purpose with the gap between the allowance and the cost of sending a child to school growing each year.

“With families crippled by this government’s austerity measures and increased charges, the last thing they should have to worry about is will they be able to afford to send their children to school.

“Many parents claim that they are being forced to cut back on other essential services with some even having to approaching money leaders (who demand huge repayments) so their children can get the basics to go to school.

“There is a growing sense that this Government is unsupportive and not prioritising investment in education, leaving schools running short and expecting parents to make up the shortfall.”