Fitzpatrick demands more help for parents

PETER Fitzpatrick TD has demanded more help for struggling parents as they get ready for the new school term in August. He recalled his own mother’s struggles when it was time for her to get the children ready to go back to school and pointed to the cost of living crisis which has hit the country in recent months.

“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,” stated Fitzpatrick.

“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 costof-living crisis. Con- sidering 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 2022-23 academic year, but this was only a once-off measure. The belief persists that the Department of Education could do more.

“I feel for the middle-income families who see themselves as qualifying for nothing, but paying for everything. One of my con- stituents 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 wellbeing. They feel like failures because they cannot meet the needs of their growing children. We need to end the practice of voluntary contributions.

“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.,” concluded the Independent Louth and East Meath TD.