OVERALL COSTS OF SENDING A CHILD TO SCHOOL GO UP
Barnardos says it now costs 785 euro to put a child through their first year of secondary school – an increase of 50 euro.
The children’s charity says the overall costs of sending a child to school have gone up this year compared with 2014.
It now costs 365 euro for a senior infant – up 20 euro – while it is up 10 euro to 390 for a child in 4th class.
The average price of books has increased by around 25 euro, and voluntary contributions now average 150 euro.
Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay says those contributions are a massive burden on parents.
“Two-thirds are asked for a voluntary contribution, and it goes from 100 to more than 200” he said.
“We have parents saying to us they’re terrified their child would be picked on, that they get e-mails, that they get texts; that they pay a bit, whatever they can afford, and then they get texts about the rest and so on” he added.
