Louth's Gerry Adams calls for unmanageable back to school costs to be addressed
Families are turning to moneylenders in an effort to cope
Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Gerry Adams is calling on the Minister for Education to tackle back to school costs for families.
Commenting on the Irish League of Credit Union school survey recently released Deputy Adams said;
“This year the Irish League of Credit Union school costs survey revealed that one third of parents are getting into debt to meet back to school costs.
"This is a worrying rise in the number of parents facing this challenge.
"Worryingly the report also shows increasing numbers of families are turning to moneylenders in an effort to cope with unmanageable back to school costs.
"The average back to school cost for a single primary school child is €999 and €1379 for a child in secondary school. Families can often find these costs further compounded by the wider costs of living.
"For many parents, this time of year is one of worry and stress as they face the prospect of the challenging costs associated with children returning to school in September.
"In addition many families are still waiting on confirmation or receipt of the Back to School Allowance.
"Sinn Féin will be launching a policy document shortly to outline the detrimental impact a lack of services and funding is having on schools, parents and children around the state.
"We will be publishing a series of proposals and will be urging the Government to adopt these”.