Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that the Government cannot continue to ignore the burden of Back to School costs that represent a huge burden on parents in the Summer

Teachta Crowe said:

“Back to School costs make the summer months an extremely difficult time for many households. Parents are put to the pin of their collar trying to organise uniforms, shoes, books, so-called ‘voluntary contributions’ and much more.

“More than any other time of year, it is abundantly clear that free education is a myth and parents are forking out, on average, €365 to get children ready for primary school and €735 for secondary school, according to a 2020 Barnardo’s report.

“Sinn Féin have consistently called for the Back to School grant to be increased. In Government, we would also introduce legislation for schools to have generic school uniform policies to reduce back-to-school costs for families and would increase the School Books grant by 30%.

“Those in Government cannot continue to ignore the burden of Back to School costs that represent a huge burden on parents in the Summer. The Government need to wake up to the reality on the ground for parents and the actual costs of sending children to school in the real world.”