Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 20 Jun 2023

Vol. 1040 No. 3

Education Costs: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Sorca Clarke

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that:

— primary and post primary education in this State is intended to be "free" under the Constitution and in legislation, but the reality is profoundly different;

— the cost-of-living crisis continues to put parents and students under significant financial pressure;

— according to the most recent Irish League of Credit Unions "back to school costs" survey, the funding of back to school continues to be a challenge for parents, with 66 per cent saying that covering the cost of back to school is a financial burden; and

— school books remain one of the most expensive items for parents of secondary school children, with an average associated cost per pupil of approximately €210 per year;

further notes with concern the Government's intention to increase Third-level student fees this coming September;

agrees that the cost should not be a barrier to accessing further and higher education, and student fees should be phased out completely; and

calls on the Government to:

— cancel the planned increase to student contributions charges and instead reduce fees further in order to work towards the elimination of student contribution charges; and

— expand the Free Schoolbook Grant Scheme to secondary schools in Budget 2024.

There is an appalling legacy of underfunding by successive Governments in the education sector. It is this political refusal that has led to our schools becoming overreliant on parental funding to bridge unacceptable gaps. Primary and post-primary education in this State is intended to be free under the Constitution and legislation but the reality is profoundly different. The results of this are parents scrimping, saving and cutting back on everyday essential items and students losing out and being excluded. Last October, the OECD's Education at a Glance report stated clearly that Ireland lags way behind when it comes to investing in education as a measure of GDP. This is beyond shameful.

It is an issue that is raised with me time and again by all stakeholders in education that I engage with. Teacher unions are again highlighting the need for urgent additional investment. Barnardo's, the Irish League of Credit Unions and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are all saying the same thing, which is that education is rapidly becoming an unrealistic cost and schools are struggling to keep doors open and lights on in warm classrooms. For many in our community, these education costs are a bigger worry this year as the cost of living continues to rise. As rents, mortgages, fuel, utility and food bills get higher and higher, more families will struggle to meet what can be eye-watering costs. There are things the Government can and must do to ease the pressure on parents and students but it needs to act now.

The Government can and should be doing more on back-to-school costs. It can and should extend the schoolbooks scheme to post-primary schools, to take at least that one meaningful step to ease the financial burden on parents of post-primary students who are worried about back-to-school costs now, when the month of June has not yet passed.

Free education is a myth. The issue is becoming one of equality. For parents and students at all levels, particularly at post-primary, the return to school is fast approaching. They are already trying to budget for those additional costs, for everything from uniforms to devices, from books to transport. On top of that, parents are asked to pay hundreds of euro in so-called voluntary contributions because of that legacy of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's failure to properly fund our schools. Each and every one of those costs will be felt sharply, putting already hard-pressed parents in avoidable difficult positions. The most recent Irish League of Credit Unions back-to-school costs survey found that funding going back to school continues to be a challenge for parents, with 66% saying that covering the cost of going back to school is a financial burden. Parents do not use words like that lightly. They do not say things like that lightly. Schoolbooks remain one of the most expensive items for parents of post-primary children, with an average associated cost per pupil of approximately €210.

The Sinn Féin motion this evening calls on the Government to cancel the planned increase in student contribution charges and to expand the schoolbook grant scheme to secondary schools in budget 2024. We have long called for the introduction of free schoolbooks for all schoolchildren for many years, because they are one of the most expensive items that parents have as an annual cost. They are essential to learning and where there is a substantial cost, meeting that cost becomes a barrier to education, as has been shown in repeated findings by the Irish League of Credit Unions and others. While the Government has moved somewhat in budget 2023 with regard to schoolbooks for primary schools, it inexcusably chose not to extend this measure to post-primary schools, where schoolbooks cost significantly more. We in Sinn Féin believe education must be genuinely free and accessible to all. That means starting by expanding the schoolbooks scheme to post-primary schools and stopping the increase for the third level student contribution.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

I believe it was said in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". I wonder, were William Shakespeare a student studying in Irish university today, would he say that student fees by any other name still stink? That is what we have. There is a situation whereby post-crash student fees were branded as a charge. A solution which tries to rebrand the problem does not actually solve anything. It just tries to define it away. The reason I remember this is because I was in college at that time. I remember it because at that time, I protested this charge along with many other students. We protested against it because we knew this would lead to the blocking of certain people from third level education. We knew it then and we still know it now.

Just today, I spoke to students who could not believe how much these student contribution charges have increased by since that time. Many students and people who went through university at that time know that these charges often increase and increase. I am a firm believer in having access to education for everybody, with free education for every single person who wants to access that education. Not everybody needs to go into third level education and it is important that we make clear to students the different options that they have. For anybody who wants to access third level education, there should be no barrier such as contribution charges or any other charges that limit their possibilities to access third level education or their ability to access whatever career path they want to take.

They call it the land of saints and scholars. It should not be a situation where scholars can only be scholars if they have the money to do so. It should be a situation where anybody who wants to access a certain third level degree can do so and has the right to do so. At the moment, there are young people who are simply locked out of education. The reality is the Government recognises this. Last year, when the Government announced the €1,000 change in the student contribution fee, in a sense it recognised at that point that it was not fair. It recognised that we needed to do more for people to be able to access third level education.

Well before the current cost-of-living crisis, I knew and many of us knew that this charge was wrong. At a time when bills, people's mortgages and even basic food supplies are increasing, then it is absolutely scandalous. The reality, which students are saying clearly to me, is that families need to be able to plan. They need to know, next year or the year after, if we have a situation where a child might want to access third level education, how they will plan for that. The Ministers know that decreasing student fees allows more young people to access third level education. It is not just the charges that have an impact on that. We know, from the Dublin City University report on housing that it is an additional barrier to education. It states that an average of €750 is not reasonable or realistic for many young people. We can all agree that what is needed is a situation whereby every single young person who wants to access third level education can do so and can access the course he or she wants to. Not only is that better for us as the so-called land of saints and scholars, but it is better for long-term workforce planning.

Tá rud amháin atáim chun a rá inniu. D'airigh na hAirí iad féin go raibh sé fíorthábhachtach an méid atá ar mhic léinn a íoc chuile bhliain a athrú ó €3,000 go €2,000. I ndáiríre, caithfimid breathnú air seo go fadtéarmach. Caithfimid cinntiú nach mbeidh costas ar bith ag baint le dul chuig an tríú leibhéal. Ba chóir go mbeadh daoine óga in ann dul chuig an ollscoil más mian leo. Ar ndóigh, tá rudaí eile gur féidir le daoine óga a dhéanamh agus tá sé fíorthábhachtach go bhfuil an t-eolas sin acu ach ba chóir go mbeadh deis ag aon pháiste beo atá ag iarraidh dul ar an ollscoil dul agus foghlaim cibé rud gur mhaith leis nó léi a fhoghlaim. Ba chóir go mbeadh daoine óga in ann a rá leo féin go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh a bheith ina léachtóir, ina ndochtúir nó ina n-altra agus é sin ar fad a dhéanamh. Ní cóir nach mbeadh sé de dheis acu é sin a dhéanamh mar gheall nach bhfuil an t-airgead acu.

I think we are all in agreement that we need to make sure that everybody has access to third level education who wants it.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

We all know that the term "free education" is a myth at this stage. As we have heard, a staggering 66% of parents find back-to-school costs an additional financial burden. The cost of schoolbooks remain high. There are elevated student fees and costs for travel, accommodation, uniforms, stationery and extracurricular activities. Every year, the issue of iPads is raised. People have to pay €700 for an iPad and have to buy the books at the same time. The Government is not listening to parents and guardians. It is looking to increase the cost of education again in September 2023. The Government must reverse the planned increase of student contribution charges and instead commit to phasing out fees over the coming years.

The Union of Students in Ireland, USI, cost of college campaign is a prime example of the burden on students and their families in higher education. It cites accommodation and travel costs and student contribution fees as major obstacles to those wishing to continue their education. From meeting students in Technological University, TU, Dublin - Blanchardstown, I know the cost of accommodation is crippling them and stopping them from completing their education. From talking directly to apprentices and members of the USI, many of them also noted poor pay as a major factor in their education. Given the Government's promotion of further education, removing these contribution fees is crucial.

With the average cost of schoolbooks for parents at €101 per child at primary school and €201 at secondary level, the Government can expand the free schoolbook grant scheme to secondary schools in budget 2024. Education must be genuinely free and accessible to all.

Deputy Pauline Tully

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion, which focuses on the need for the Government to cut back-to-school costs. I commend my party colleagues, Deputies Clarke and Mairéad Farrell, on their work in bringing this forward.

The letters, emails and texts requesting the purchase of books and uniforms have already been sent by schools, in addition to schools seeking voluntary contributions from families that are anything but voluntary. Numerous families I have spoken to feel this is a huge burden. It is a burden every year but, particularly with the current cost-of-living crisis, they feel it has now become unbearable. Many families are being forced to take out loans or, indeed, to go to charities to cover back-to-school costs. Schools should not feel the need to have to fundraise or ask for voluntary contributions. The Government needs to fund the education system adequately to cover basic costs. Schools are put in this position because of the Government's failure to invest.

Schoolbooks remain probably the most expensive item for parents as regards annual back-to-school costs. Something has to be done to ease that financial burden on parents. The free schoolbooks scheme could and should be expanded to secondary schools in budget 2024. I would like to see that happen. It is very welcome in primary schools this year but it needs to happen in secondary schools as well. Many secondary schools have book rental arrangements in place, which reduce costs quite considerably, but I know of one family that has a first-year student starting school and which has been asked for €300 to cover book rental for the first three years. You might think that is not too bad over a three-year period, but they have to pay it upfront and I am sure it includes a voluntary contribution. Fifth-year students starting a two-year course are being asked for €330. It is a lot of money for parents to come up with, especially where they have more than one student, maybe starting in first year and fifth year, if they have to pay out more than €600 just to see their children starting in school. As a former teacher, I believe something needs to be done about schoolbook publishers excessively revising their textbooks, which forces families and schools to purchase books every few years when it is entirely unnecessary.

Incredibly, the Government is, in effect, increasing third level student fees this September because it has not properly funded third level institutions and is forcing them to raise their student contribution charge. The charge was put in place in the aftermath of the financial crisis as a means for third level institutions to offset Government reductions to their core funding. A pattern is arising, however, where parents and students have to fill the gap left by the Government reduction in core funding to educational institutions. Instead of overseeing an increase in these contributions, the Government needs to put adequate funding in place and commit to phasing out fees over the coming years. Educational institutions must be properly resourced in order that they do not have to rely on contributions of any kind. Education must be genuinely free and accessible to all.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

As schools throughout the country close their doors for the summer, parents, teachers and students can look forward to a well-earned break and some recovery before the cycle starts again in late August. I salute our primary, post-primary and third level educators for the work and support they have offered our learners over the past academic year. Being an educator is a tough but at the same time, I am sure, a very rewarding job.

As the summer approaches its conclusion, schoolbook lists will be issued, school uniform requirements will be provided and parents will once again be faced with the daunting task of paying for these necessities while struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis we are all involved in. The burden of these costs weighs heavily on parents. According to the Irish League of Credit Unions, 66% of parents say that covering the cost of school is a significant financial burden to them. The Government has made some strides by introducing a free schoolbooks scheme for primary schools but it should and can go further. This scheme needs to be expanded to secondary schools where schoolbook costs are an even more significant expense. A Barnardo's report noted that the average cost of schoolbooks for secondary school students is €201. As Deputy Tully said, if parents have more than one child that will obviously be tripled or doubled. If the cost of uniforms, transport and post-school activities is added to this, parents incur a significant financial burden. The Government can alleviate some of these pressures but it needs to act now. It must alleviate the burden of schoolbook costs and supposed voluntary contributions to individual schools for the parents of schoolchildren. These contributions and book requirements hit parents all at once and at the same time. Starting a new term puts a burden on parents of children throughout the State.

The financial cost and pressures do not end when the leaving certificate is completed. If a young adult decides to go to third level, more financial burdens are faced. The student contribution charge is a huge expense and is not means-tested. While it can be reimbursed for some by application to Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, it remains a significant cost. During this oppressive cost-of-living crisis, the Government intends to increase this charge. Workers and families are struggling to pay their housing costs, utility bills and increased grocery costs. It is just not good enough to add a further burden to these families. These planned increases to student contribution charges should be cancelled. These fees should be reduced and ultimately eliminated. Furthermore, in the upcoming budget, the Government should commit to expanding the schoolbooks scheme to secondary schools and to working towards making a free education system genuinely free and easing the pressure on students and parents. Creating a genuinely free education system is achievable. It can be done.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I am glad to see both Ministers are present. This year, the cost of education is a bigger worry for families, as we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. The Government can and must do certain things to ease that pressure on parents and students. At primary and secondary level, not only do parents face the expensive cost of schoolbooks, with an average cost of €200 plus, they are also expected to make voluntary contributions, which can be in the region of more than €200, in some cases. They have to pay transition year fees, find money for extracurricular activities and, of course, there is the annual cost of uniforms. On top of that, there is a charge for school transport in rural areas. It is a reduced charge but it is still there. Some have to arrange transport through private bus companies. I know of several cases in counties Laois and Offaly where people are getting their children to school via private bus hire, which runs into huge figures every year. Year on year, we are seeing requests for voluntary contributions of well over €100 and, in some cases, €200 plus per child. There is significant pressure on families to contribute, with real stigma attached to pupils if their contribution is not made.

The reason this is happening in the first place is due to the lack of funding from the Department. The school capitation grant has to be dealt with in this budget, particularly at primary level. We cannot continue doing it on the cheap. The cost of heating, insurance and all the overhead costs at primary schools - the Minister will know this as a teacher herself - have gone up in recent years. According to the most recent back-to-school survey from the Irish League of Credit Unions, funding continues to be a huge headache for parents with more than two thirds stating that covering back-to-school costs is a major financial burden for them.

We call on the Government to expand the free books scheme to secondary schools to ease that financial burden on parents during that difficult period. At third level, student fees now pose a potential barrier to education. It is totally unacceptable that that can happen because the right to third level education should be there regardless of what strata children come from. The Government should not consider increasing student fees this September. That must be stopped. We call on the Government to cancel that planned increase and increase the capitation grant in the next budget. For our part, we are committed to ending voluntary contributions by increasing the capitation grants.

Parents with children who are going back to school in September are facing huge financial pressures. The Government must act now and not in three months' time to ease that burden.

Minister for Education (Deputy Norma Foley)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House on the issue of back-to-school costs. The Government will not oppose the motion. In a short while, I will attend the graduation ceremony for 100 migrant teachers who are graduating from the bridging programme in Marino Institute of Education. I express my gratitude to the speakers here who have facilitated my attendance at what is a great occasion of celebration for those graduates.

I express my gratitude for their graciousness.

I am conscious of the significant pressures that can face families and their budgets. From speaking with parents in schools around the country and in my home constituency, I know the return to school in September can bring particular pressure, especially, as many parents and guardians highlight to me, when a family is preparing to send more than one child back to school or college. Parents and guardians will always want to do the very best for their children and young people, especially when it comes to their children accessing education and the opportunity it offers. I am conscious that, as a Government, we must do everything possible to support them. It is for this reason I have introduced both universal and targeted measures to help parents and families with the cost of education, including the introduction of a landmark free schoolbook scheme for all primary school children, the reduction of school transport fees and increased capitation payments. It is our ambition in government to support a child through every milestone and to support families as they journey together.

I will reflect on all that has been achieved in this regard. When a child enrols in a primary school, they will now be provided with all the books and other resources they need to learn and thrive free of charge. Aside from cost, it is one less headache for parents and guardians. They can expect to go into a colourful and exciting classroom in which the pupil-teacher ratio is the lowest it has ever been, meaning they can benefit from the best possible experience with their teacher. In the case of over 200,000 children, they can expect a free school meal and we have ambitions to expand this programme even further. If they are among the tens of thousands of children who use the school transport service, their ticket costs far less than it did before this Government came into being. We have ambitions to do more in coming years and budgets but this is a remarkable change to have made in little over three years.

One of the most important measures in this regard has been the establishment of a free schoolbook scheme in all primary schools across the country. This new scheme will benefit over 588,000 pupils in 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools. This is an historic moment and one which helps us to live up to the promise of free education. The scheme is supported by Government funding of over €53 million, which has been issued to all schools to purchase all schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for their students. Together with other Government measures, the scheme will make a huge difference to parents’ wallets and stress levels. It is an initiative I look forward to seeing advance in the coming years. The scheme adds to the measures which the Government has progressed in the area of social protection, including a bonus payment of €100 for all recipients of child benefit payments, an enhanced payment of the clothing and footwear allowance and the significantly expanded provision of free school meals from September 2023.

I know from speaking with families that requests for voluntary contributions can place an additional burden. I want to be clear: where a voluntary contribution is requested, it must be made clear that there is no obligation on parents to pay it under section 64 of the Education Act, added to by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. I know that most schools take this very seriously.

I also know that schools must be funded to meet their running costs. This year alone, schools have received an additional payment of €90 million to meet any cost-of-living pressures. This is in addition to standard capitation funding and ancillary payments. These payments have been increased in recent budgets and it is our intention to seek further increases in future budgets as resources allow. For the September 2023-2024 school year, the Government has reduced the charge payable to access the school transport scheme. The charge will be €50 per pupil at primary school and €75 per pupil at post-primary, with a family cap of €125. This is a significant reduction relative to the previous family cap of €525. Eligible children holding valid medical cards or with special educational needs will remain exempt from paying the annual charge. I know from my engagement with families that the value of the school transport scheme cannot be overstated. In addition to helping parents to manage the myriad of pick-ups and drop-offs that are part of any family, the scheme provides great value for money and has positive impacts for the environment. Last year, more than 131,000 tickets were issued for mainstream services under the scheme and we look forward to an equally successful scheme in the coming school year.

I restate my complete commitment to supporting parents and guardians and minimising costs for families. Significant progress has been made under this Government and I look forward to continuing the work with all Government colleagues to achieve this further.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Deputy Simon Harris)

I am pleased to join my colleague, the Minister for Education, in speaking on this motion.

I hope the passion I hear from the Opposition party on reducing student fees will also be delivered in the North. In having an honest debate about college fees, I have to note the cost of student fees in Northern Ireland, where that party has been in government and held the position of Minister of Education, is today the equivalent of €5,500 per student per year. There is a student loan system in place in Northern Ireland that leaves students heavily burdened on leaving college, having to pay back debt at a time when they would like to be saving for their future. That party's members might tell me the way Northern Ireland is funded is different but when they campaigned in the last elections, they did not commit to reducing by 1 cent or 1 pence the student contribution fee or to reforming the student loan system. It is important that students who follow these debates look at what that party does when it has a chance to govern and what it committed to doing in Northern Ireland in the last election, which was absolutely nothing when it came to reducing fees, which are higher by €2,500 per student per year than they are in the Republic. That point is important in the interest of context.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

It is wrong context. You talk about context, but it is wrong context.

Deputy Simon Harris

Read your manifesto, Deputy Donnelly. You did not commit in Northern Ireland to reducing student fees. A Sinn Féin Minister for Education presided over a student loan system and the fees are the equivalent of €5,500. In this jurisdiction, the Government, of which I am proud to be part, cut college fees last time for the first time in 27 years. This year there will be a permanent reduction of €500 in college fees for all families with a household income of less than €100,000. All student grants have increased by between 10% and 14%, a higher rate than the rate of inflation. A double student grant payment was paid last Christmas. The student assistance fund is at the highest level it has ever been, at €20 million. Public transport fees have been cut for all citizens, particularly for those between the ages of 17 and 24, many of whom are students. Apprenticeship fees, sadly not mentioned in the motion, were cut and new bursaries introduced for our apprentices.

I assure Deputy Mairéad Farrell and others, who bring the motion in good faith, that there will be more measures to help students and families in the forthcoming college year. I will, as I said at question time, work with Deputies on that. We must keep an unrelenting focus on reducing the cost of education. Later this summer, we will publish a cost of education paper for college outlining all the options available to Government so Government, Opposition, students, the media, parents and everyone has an opportunity to scrutinise what could be done in a budget, the different choices and what they would cost.

Student accommodation is a major challenge and that is why we have developed a new approach to it. For the first time, we are investing taxpayers' money in the construction of student accommodation. We have got four projects over the line so far and are actively working with UCD, Trinity and UCC on their proposals. Later this week, I will announce details of how we will activate the plans for the technological university sector. In return for State investment, the university must provide a percentage of the beds below market rent for key priority groups.

We have done much and need to do a lot more. We will work in the coming weeks to bring forward more proposals for the budget and for the college year. I agree everyone who wants to access education must be able to but we live in a country with more college places and pathways than ever before, where grants are rising, fees are falling and there are new apprenticeship supports and technological universities bringing higher education into the regions and into rural Ireland.

Deputy Denise Mitchell

Parents rightly question the notion of free education at this time of year. The Irish League of Credit Unions survey on back-to-school costs shows 66% of parents see back-to-school costs as a financial burden.

Costs increase across the board year on year as schools look for higher voluntary contributions because the system is being underfunded by the Government. It is crazy to think that parents continue to pick up the State's tab to the tune of €40 million or €50 million per year.

I want to raise the case of a woman in my constituency who has two children attending secondary school and a third starting in September. The books for all three come in at over €500. On top of that, the child entering first year needs to get an iPad, which comes in at over €700. The uniform costs €200. For the woman, the total cost of her three children going to secondary school in September is over €1,400, before a voluntary contribution or school fees.

Another lady contacted me and said she has two young children in primary school whose uniforms cost €160, before having to make voluntary school contributions, pay for stationery and pay various school fees. Simple cost-saving measures such as generic uniforms have been talked about for years by various Ministers but nothing has ever come of it. While I acknowledge that the Minister introduced free schoolbooks for primary school children in the past budget, this really needs to be done for secondary school pupils too.

An increase in the student contribution charge for third level is on the way, as if third level students were not struggling enough. The Government needs to scrap these increases and show compassion for hard-pressed students. It is time that the Government funded education properly and worked towards making it really and truly free.

Deputy Martin Browne

The current cost-of-living crisis is having a profound effect on many families. Inflation is having an impact on how far family budgets can stretch. While measures to reduce inflation have been taken, primarily by the ECB through interest rate hikes, they are adding to the outgoings for mortgage holders. For those renting, the costs are significant and in many cases bear little relation to the ability of families to put a roof over their heads while providing for their needs.

With pressures like these, exercising the fundamental right to education should not increase pressure on families further. Indeed, when it comes to third level, in many instances undergraduates face the very same high rental costs and increases in living expenses. Times are not easy and this must be recognised in the Government's treatment of the costs incurred in education. Traditionally, schoolbooks have been among the most expensive items for parents when it comes to the cost of children going back to school. As a party, we have long argued for schoolbooks to be provided free of charge. Successive Governments have resisted this. The pressure on families has got to such a stage that some, in order to spend on schoolbooks, have to cut back on other household expenditure, as if things were not bad enough for struggling families.

For many families, the approximate cost of primary schoolbooks, €101, is not easily come by. For families sending children to secondary school, the cost soars to €200, which must not be allowed to continue. This is not being said by Sinn Féin or others in opposition; it is in the report by Barnardo's, which is backed up by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

At the moment, the Taoiseach is trying to make hay out of the proposed tax cuts, but if he put the taxes already paid by the people of Ireland to work for their benefit, he might actually make a difference for struggling families.

We call on the Government to abandon its plans to increase the student contribution charge, which I remind the Minister has been put in place to offset the reduction in core funding made in times of austerity. When third level students face rent prices never encountered before by students and when families are most limited in their ability to support them, we really need to see the planned increase in fees ditched. Furthermore, the Government must publish its plan to eliminate student fees for the coming years.

The Government makes much of its current employment figures. It speaks of how the knowledge base of our young workers contributes to these in no small way, but if it truly values the knowledge base and the skills that make Ireland an attractive place in which to do business, it will do all it can to ensure cost will not be a barrier to accessing further and higher education and assure families with primary and secondary students that at the start of the school year, schoolbooks costs will not yet again become another significant hit on household finances.

Deputy Réada Cronin

I am very glad to hear the Minister will not oppose the motion because our asks are quite straightforward. We have put them to her this evening on behalf of people across north Kildare, including Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Naas, who are already struggling with the vicious series of mortgage rate hikes, exorbitant rents and a deep cost-of-living crisis. Even to get out your front door now to get a few bits and pieces for children going back to school, you are not talking about a €10 or €20 note; you will not get much change out of €50. The days of the tenners and €20 notes to get the rubber and pencil case for kids heading back to school are long gone. The primary school year is not even over and too many parents are already worried about September and the cost of free education, which is anything but free.

The so-called voluntary contribution is a source of involuntary mortification for many parents who simply cannot afford it. I hear what the Minister is saying but the schools where the parents cannot afford to pay the voluntary contribution are the ones that really need the extra help. Unless the Minister is making up the voluntary contribution, it is no use saying to parents that they do not have to pay it if they do not want to. The Government really needs to fund public education properly so parents will not be expected to plug the gap out of their own pockets when feeling under pressure.

By June, children are squashed into their trousers. The trousers are riding up their legs and their jumpers are bet on to them, as are their shirts, because parents do not want to buy uniforms while expecting a growth spurt over the summer.

By extending the free books scheme and proposing a ban on fee increases at third level, our plan gives hard-working people a financial hand, not another financial wallop. Things seem even worse when there is naked political indifference. People say to me they feel the Government is indifferent to how hard they are finding things. We hear people say all the time that their salaries go nowhere or not far enough and that there is no money even for the basics, never mind the extras. It is not acceptable that so-called free education should be so expensive for people, who are already funding it with their taxes.

I appreciate that the Government is accepting the motion.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

Each year, parents find that back-to-school costs have increased since the previous year and are putting them under greater financial pressure. In a society where education is supposed to be free, parents find that putting even just one child through school can cost thousands of euro. Parents putting two or more children through school find the financial burden is becoming unsustainable. Many families are left in a very precarious financial position as they try to sustain the cost of their children's education over the long term. They find they have to make an increasing number of sacrifices as their children progress from primary level to secondary level, and finally to third level.

Research shows that the cost incurred in respect of children in secondary school is almost double that in respect of those in primary school. Studies carried out by Barnardo's have found that many parents have had to cut back on meeting a range of costs, including the paying of some bills, to meet the cost of a child returning to school. Estimates show that in 2022, it cost €1,146 to keep a child in primary education. The highest expenditure was on transport, followed by after-school activities, school lunches and schoolbooks. In 2022, it cost an average of €1,838 to send a child to secondary school. The highest costs for a child going to secondary school include those of transport, lunches and grinds. In a cost-of-living crisis, the very least we should expect is that our children would receive a proper education without parents forgoing the payment of bills or getting into debt to cover the cost of a child's education.

Education is a fundamental right and our children need the best start in life to help them on their path. To ease the pressure on parents, the free schoolbooks scheme should be expanded to include secondary schools. I have seen the benefits of hot meals for children. They allow them to remain focused in class and get the very best out of their learning.

The cost of transport remains one of the highest in education, so it is essential that the school transport scheme be expanded to the benefit of families, who stand to make substantial savings at a time when most families are struggling financially.

Now is the time to implement these measures so parents preparing for the new school year in September will have peace of mind and less of the stress associated with sending a child back to school.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I understand the Minister, Deputy Foley, will have to leave during the debate to attend an important ceremony later in Marino, which is in my constituency. That is fully understandable.

While I have the Minister's attention, I want to turn to one issue around DEIS. It comes to the issue of school costs. A number of schools in three geographical locations in Dublin that are acutely disadvantaged are advocating for a DEIS+ scheme. Most of this is related to trauma supports. I thought I had heard it all until I heard what principals had to say in a number of meetings I had with them. One principal told me that a particular child, because of a lack of intervention, is lost. She is in fifth class. If the interventions had taken place when they were first flagged in second class, she would not be lost, but the principal looked at me and said, "She's lost. She's gone".

Another conversation I had was in a different part of Dublin, where a principal happened to mention to me that because of a local feud, they have changed the route they walk to swimming in the morning. This is a primary school. I said to this principal, "Do you mean to tell me that you have changed the route you walk to swimming because you are afraid a child will get shot?". She said yes. It was a such a run-of-the-mill thing that she had to organise as part of her week that the starkness of the reality did not really compute with her. In this place in Dublin, they have decided to reroute the children from where they would normally go on their way to swimming because they are afraid that one of them will get shot by mistake.

Twenty years ago in DEIS schools, we used to contemplate what a disaster it would be when the functional generation of grandparents got older, and was replaced by the heroin generation. That is where we are now. We are at the point where the grandparents on whom we used to be able to depend to put a hand in their pocket for the various bits and pieces the school might ask for, or for the functionality of the school week, cannot be relied on anymore because the grandparents are now from that heroin generation of the 1980s and 1990s. That is absolutely terrifying, because the very thing that held these communities together is now breaking apart in their very hands. I cannot overstate to the Minister how shocked I was, and I worked in DEIS for 11 years in an acutely disadvantaged area. I was absolutely shocked by what I was hearing from these principals.

I know the Minister is a person of action, and she is a person of compassion. I know that when she hears these testimonies, and when she listens to what they say, she will act. I know she will say that there has been unprecedented investment in DEIS. I know that 25% of the schools in the country now have DEIS status, but that does not help those acutely disadvantaged schools that are crying out for therapeutic support, teacher support and the type of multidisciplinary teams that are available in Dublin 1.

On the issue of costs, again I will congratulate the Minister, because we campaigned for a long time for a free book scheme. We wanted what they had in Northern Ireland to be freely available here, and the Minister has done it. It is an historic achievement, and I have to say that to the Minister. I know that dealing with the Department of Education is not always an easy thing to do, but we absolutely want this to be carried on to second level. We need to ban voluntary contributions. We need to make that strong case from the Department. We need to say that voluntary contributions are just illegal, because I am afraid one cannot trust every single school. In the Minister's comments, I know she said that the vast majority of schools understand, but not all of them do. Many schools are in competition with each other. They will not admit this, but it is true. They are in competition for kids. In my constituency, there are open night banners every September because they want to attract children to their schools. That means they have to provide something which maybe the other school does not have. This has gone down the road of crested jumpers, iPads, trips, tours and all the rest of it, and the voluntary contribution is a part of that. It is obscene when one sees how much some schools can raise in their own school communities in the fundraisers they have. I am aware of €50,000 being raised in one night.

What we really want - I know the Minister agrees with me on this - is that parents' interactions with a school would not come down to money. We want them never to be asked for it or chased for it, the teacher not to have to ask for it, and the principal not to have to spend his or her time trying to find money to run the school. Would it not be wonderful if the parents' association never had to raise funds? Would it not be magic if it was not a fundraising body, but actually a body of parents who talked about education, child development and school life? What we have now effectively turns the parents' association into a school fundraising entity. I keep making this point, but if one does not have the voluntary contribution, or if one feels that one is not in the same space as other people financially, one is less likely to go to the school gate. One is less likely to go to a parent-teacher meeting, and absolutely less likely to engage fully in school life, because one is going to be asked for money. It is not just the humiliation - it is absolutely humiliating if one does not have it, and humiliating for the child because the child knows, smells and senses everything - but it also means that the conversation one could be having is replaced by a conversation about money.

This goes to the heart of what was referred to earlier about tax cuts. In fairness, this is not what the Minister is propagating. However, I read the article supposedly written by three Ministers of State from the Government, who are members of the Fine Gael Party, and the Taoiseach had no difficulty with it. It used language about the squeezed middle, the tax burden and all this kind of thing, as if the only way one can actually help a family is with a tax cut. The narrative is a nasty and quite divisive one. The sense that they are trying to give is that loads of people get stuff for free, but some people are paying for everything. What they are trying to say is that there is a cohort of people beneath them who get stuff for free, while others work away and pay loads of tax without getting anything free, even though they do. That is why we feel so strongly about universality in the Labour Party. People do not need a tax cut; they need free school meals and books, and an absolute ban on voluntary contributions. They need free school transport, and they also need other things to be provided for them such as childcare. A reference has been made to third level fees. Surely that is the type of intervention that our supposedly squeezed middle-class in Ireland needs more than a divisive, selfish type of proposal that is red meat to the base that Fine Gael is trying to court favour with. It is that type of Ireland we would prefer to have.

Let us cut to the chase here. On books, the Minister has done it at primary level and let us do it at secondary level. Let us please ban voluntary contributions. The Minister could take the Labour Party legislation and amend it. Certainly, a strong statement has to be sent out to every school in the country that they should not do this anymore. We could do what the Catholic Primary School Management Association has said, and replace that funding to the tune of about €45 million in the Minister's budget, which would mean that no school would have to raise funds. We could end this interschool competition when it comes to school uniforms. We could make school transport absolutely free, as was done last year, and we could do the same with school meals.

In fairness to the Minister, it would not be fair for me to stand here and say as one does in politics, "Here is the Opposition with all the answers and there is the uncaring Government that does not want to listen to us". The Minister has listened to us, and has made the change. I know that the instinct of the Department is not to engage in the day-to-day management of schools. That is why I feel it was probably resistant to the idea of a free school book scheme. However, from September I want to make sure there is no school that can work its way around the free books scheme by saying "Yes, there is a free books scheme, but we want €5, €10 or €15 for the novel", or for another supplementary piece of stationery, or whatever.

I will finish where I started, on the DEIS+ proposals. I do not want to be saying these things, and I have deliberately not isolated the geographical areas that these three bunches of schools are in, but it is frightening and it is happening now. They are asking for a very simple support from the Minister's Department in order that children can be assisted. I worry that what I witnessed is going to get worse, and the very schools that are holding these communities in their hands will not be in a position to care for these children, as a result of which we are going to face much more intense and profound problems into the future.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I realise that the Minister has to go, so I am glad that she is still here for my contribution. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. The debate we are having is very important, because it impacts on so many families all across the country. It is very timely because it is at this point that schoolbags, emails and apps are being opened and parents are seeing the full extent of the costs that are coming down the road towards them. It can be a very stressful time when children are finishing school and working parents are wondering how they are going to manage to entertain them over the summer, keep them busy, and get childminders. At the same time, all these parents know that there are large bills essentially waiting to be paid as well. It is incredibly stressful.

This is a very important issue for constituents of mine in Wicklow, as it is for people across the country. I put a call out to parents to ask for their opinions and thoughts on the issue in recent days and I had quite a number of responses. One parent in Wicklow, who is reliant on social welfare payments, has to find €600 for an iPad, which is an incredible amount of money for that person. Parents are facing hundreds of euro in uniform costs. As a parent of two teenage boys, I know how quickly they get through them and how costly they are. We also have parents who, despite having access to a schoolbook rental scheme, still find themselves paying €1,000 for additional costs such as the iPad. The costs go way beyond books.

I understand that schools are in a very difficult position as well. Years of underfunding schools have put them in a position where they rely on parents far too much to meet the gap in their revenues. Schools are getting very innovative as well in finding ways of getting money and asking for money. I agree with the previous speaker who said voluntary contributions should be banned. Even if they are deemed voluntary, there is stress involved in having that request come into an inbox or app all the time. It will come in multiple times. Each time parents see a request for a voluntary contribution come in, if they know they cannot pay it, that puts stress on them and it makes them feel guilty. It makes them think they are not providing for their child and there is something they are not doing right. Voluntary contributions must be banned.

We also see administrative fees from schools in addition to voluntary contributions and school reimbursement fees. Lots of different terminology is being bandied about. Schools ask for non-voluntary amounts of money for art and craft materials, photocopying, insurance and stationery. All those fees are still being asked of parents, so even aside from the voluntary contributions, there is still a large cost incurred.

I acknowledge that the Minister is attempting to deal with the costs of primary schools, but I do not think it is enough. I do not think we will see the reduction parents need to see. Indeed, it is not just in primary education, because we also have incredible costs at secondary level as well, and at third level. Everybody, regardless of background or means, should get the best education possible. Education is the single greatest driver of opportunity, quality of life, social equality and economic growth. As a small country in an increasingly globalised and competitive world, Ireland's education system can be our greatest competitive advantage. However, there are real financial barriers to accessing education in Ireland at all levels, from early education, through primary, secondary, third level and at PhD level. According to research conducted by Zurich insurance company, parents with children in primary education pay approximately €1,500 a year, the cost for secondary schoolchildren is approximately €2,800 per year and college education costs approximately €15,000 per year.

The Minister is acting to mitigate some of the costs for primary school students with the new funding for the school book scheme, but we all know – including teachers and principals - that this initiative will not cover all the costs. There are still uniforms, equipment, school trips, events and the so-called voluntary contributions to be paid. I ask the Minister to act now. We have never been as wealthy a country as we are now. There is no financial reason at all this Government cannot provide full and free access to education. I believe it is purely political will and an indication of what the Government prioritises and values. This Government should prioritise education because it is the best way to create an equal, productive and happy country and future for us.

So many parents at the moment are really struggling. The cost-of-living crisis and increases are putting huge pressures on people. I find it very difficult when we have debates and discussions about the budget and what the Government is going to do. Fine Gael in particular is talking about giving tax cuts to the cohort of people whom it believes votes for them. What we need to see is that money pooled and then invested in our education system. That is the best use of that money.

Voters must start thinking of these education costs as a tax the Government has imposed. Everyone is entitled to education. The State recognises that. Everyone should have the same access and opportunities to get an education, but if people have to pay to access education, that is a tax. What the Social Democrats and I would like to see is that rather than talk about tax cuts that will only benefit a small cohort of people, the money the country has accrued is put back into education. It should be put back into society and the future growth of our country. The money must be fairly distributed across every child and family in this country. That is a much better way of dealing with it, rather than having a system whereby parents have to pay to access the most fundamental services and provision of the State, namely, education.

It is not just a case of me standing up here talking about it: principals recognise it and trade unions recognise it. Everyone wants to see greater investment in the education system because we know that the payback from that is tenfold or even a hundredfold. If the Minister is really trying to do something visionary, that is what she should do: actually make education free so that every parent and every child has an opportunity to become the best version of themselves, and to do it in an education system that supports them and does not put pressure on them from a financial perspective.

When we come to the budget negotiations, I know the Minister will have to fight hard to get money for her Department, but I ask her to put pressure on to get the money that we have made as a country – that wealth – put back into our children, because that is how we will keep our country growing. It is how we will maintain our wealth and economy, but it is also how we will create a fair and equal society.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick

Parents are doing their best to prepare their children for the new academic year and with so much pressure on household budgets due to the rising cost of living, by the time the bills are paid, they have little or nothing left to buy food, meaning that they are struggling to pay for schoolbooks and uniforms, as well as requested parent contributions. The bulk of announcements in last year’s education budget shared one key thing - easing the costs facing families and schools in the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis. Considering that Ireland’s free education system is expensive when schoolbooks, uniforms, voluntary contributions and extracurricular activities are factored in, the free schoolbook initiative at primary level was a long-awaited step in the right direction, but it was not enough to compensate for soaring inflation. The increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance and free school transport helped many families, yet these measures were only temporary and are still a long way off meeting the needs of families struggling with school costs. There is still a journey to go in cutting costs such as voluntary contributions and schoolbooks and-or iPads at second level.

If costs at primary and secondary level are high, they are greater still in higher education. The €3,000 student contribution fee means that third level education in Ireland is the most expensive in the EU, not to mind soaring rents and high fuel costs for commuting students. I welcome that the contribution fee was slashed to €1,000 in the 2022-2023 academic year, but this was only a once-off measure. The belief persists that the Department of Education could do more. Despite Government ambitions to create the best education system in Europe and despite the scale of announcements to tackle immediate costs in last year’s budget, the sector remains underfunded compared with those of most of our European neighbours. What a paradoxical, yet familiar tale.

In April, the Taoiseach got Cabinet approval to establish a new child poverty and well-being unit in his Department. This team has six key targets, including reducing the cost of education, slashing the price of childcare and potential welfare reforms to tackle child poverty. This could be a game-changer. By building on existing policies such as free schoolbooks and the expansion of the hot meals programme, we can alleviate the pressures on families on the poverty line.

I feel for the middle-income families who see themselves as qualifying for nothing, but paying for everything. One of my constituents is a working mother who does not meet the criteria for the back-to-school allowance. She has not been given enough hours at work and is struggling to pay her bills and feed her children, never mind trying to cover the cost of back-to-school expenses. This has a huge impact on parents’ mental health and well-being. They feel like failures because they cannot meet the needs of their growing children. We need to end the practice of voluntary contributions. The capitation grant must also be restored to 2010 levels. That would be a first step in ending the practice of voluntary contribution through an adequate funding system. Pre-budget submissions should incorporate a number of ways in which the Government should address school costs and provide genuinely free primary and secondary education to all students, while funding for third level is urgent.

I appreciate that the Minister, Deputy Harris, has visited Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, on many occasions. DkIT is trying to achieve technological university status. It is important that the north east is not left behind. Coming from Dundalk, I can say that we appreciate it. The Minister gave DkIT a special adviser to help it along the way. I appreciate that the Higher Education Authority is supportive. There are 6,000 students and 5,000 staff at DkIT. The big plus in DkIT is that nearly 80% of the students who attend are the first members of their families to do so. Since Deputy Foley got the job as Minister for Education, I must admit she has been very approachable. Every time someone goes to speak to her, she is sympathetic and looks after us.

As someone who came from a council estate, I recall my mother struggling hard to get us to school, get schoolbooks, feed us and everything else. I feel for people nowadays. The cost-of-living situation has hit not only Ireland but every country. The Department is one that a lot of people pick on, but I honestly think everybody should be entitled to a free education, including in the academic area when people go on to become an accountant, a lawyer or something else. It is also great to see the facilities for apprenticeships, especially in the college in Dundalk. Years ago, people looked down on apprenticeships, but it is a fantastic job. Once people get an apprenticeship, they can perhaps go on to third level education and get a degree. It is not all doom and gloom. I thank the Minster. She is very approachable, which I appreciate.

Deputy Matt Shanahan

I wish to split my contribution between the primary and secondary sectors and the third level sector. I know the Minister had to leave. I thank her and her Department for the help and support she has offered to my Waterford office in relation to individual student cases and under the capital schools programme, which is very important to us in Waterford county and city. We are working on a number of school programmes and I thank the Minister for her assistance. Before she left, I had intended asking her about the hygiene infrastructure in schools, particularly HEPA filters. I have seen them deployed in some but not all schools. I question why they have not been deployed. They are a necessary technology. The schools not using them should be asked to do an air audit and publish it for the school board so its members understand whether the ventilation is up to scratch.

We recently met the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, which has several asks of the Government in the upcoming budget, some of which are very pertinent. One in particular is to reduce class size by two points. The INTO is also seeking the restoration of school posts of responsibility. Compared with 2009, there are now approximately 370 fewer assistant principal positions in the system and approximately 2,000 fewer assistant principal II positions in the system. This is having quite an effect on school management and the running of schools and must be examined. These posts were available in 2009. The INTO is also seeking a 20% increase in the school capitation grant, which amount to approximately €21 million net per fiscal year. Given the significant inflationary costs schools face in terms of energy, facility maintenance and general running costs, this must be considered. It is having a significant effect on schools' performance and is a key reason they engage so heavily in asking for voluntary contributions. I hope the Government will examine this in the upcoming budget.

I was going to direct some remarks to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, but after he gave a kicking to Sinn Féin, he left, so I will have to direct them to the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. They relate to student accommodation costs at third level. The cost for students living away from home is a punitive form of regional taxation. Technological University Dublin, TUD, estimated that living away would cost €13,300 per annum, which is laughable when we consider that University College Dublin, UCD, is currently charging as much as €10,700 for a student accommodation bed in the academic year. In the south east, more than 60% of our school-leavers leave the region for further and higher education. This is, as I said, an unfair and unjust tax on parents in the south east.

The Minister is presiding over a massive setback for the South East Technological University, SETU, with respect to its aspirations to provide teacher training. Based on a recent Department report, technological universities will not be able to play any meaningful part, despite the fact that SETU had massive strength in master's programmes in the school of education. The Minister was recently able to award a refurbishment grant of €30 million for an engineering building in University College Cork, UCC. In addition, he just announced €125 million in funding to develop a school of business in UCC. At the same time, we in Waterford are still waiting for the purchase of the glass factory site to lead the development of SETU. We have also been waiting since 2014 for the awarding of a tender for a new school of engineering. It is business as usual, unfortunately, in terms of further and higher education. I ask the Minister of State to bring these matters to the attention of his colleague and to ask him when these projects will be moved on and when the south east will get a fair and equitable share of the education budget, which is currently wholly reserved for the large-scale universities.

Debate adjourned.