Cash-strapped parents are finding harder than ever to pay for Back to School costs, a new survey by the country’s credit unions has found.
It has emerged that over three-out-of-four parents (78%) are finding it a burden to pay for school uniforms and books come the start of the new school term, a significant increase on 67% in 2018.
Parents getting children ready for secondary school are spending €1,399 per child - up €20 on the €1,379 spent last year.
Parents of primary school children are however spending less, €949 this year compared to €999 last year.
Families with children going to secondary school are being hardest hit with eight in 10 (83%) admitting the back to school spend is a financial burden compared with 77% of parents at primary level.
While the numbers in debt over back to school costs remains steady at over a third (36%), parents appear to be more prudent with the debt they are running up.
The average debt this year is €322 compared with €405 in 2018, a reduction of €83. Of those parents in debt, almost a quarter (24%) say they have turned to a moneylender, and while the figure is worrying, it is a three percent drop on last year.
The average amount borrowed from moneylenders has also fallen slightly from €450 last year, to €439 this year.
The survey found that one third of parents said they will be forced to deny their children certain school items because they can’t afford them a 31% increase on last year.
Giving details, 68% said they will cut out extracurricular activities while 30% won’t spend on school trips.
Another 29% said new gym gear will get the cut while for 22%, new shoes will be off the school list.
An increasing number of parents said they are under pressure to buy branded goods, with 54% saying they were feeling this pressure, compared with 43% last year.
Commenting on the survey ILCU head of communications Paul Bailey said: “We are calling on the government to take more affirmative action to tackle the rising costs of sending children back to school.
The recommendations outlined in the Joint Committee on Education and Skill’s report, if taken on board, will go a long way to easing this annual burden on parents.”
The most expensive item at second level was again books, coming in at €220 compared with €200 last year.
Uniforms and clothing was next on the list at €200, up from €179 last year while school trips are set to cost parents €190 this year, compared with €159 last year.
At primary school level, parents appear to be cutting back on school lunches, with the spend falling from €142 last year to €102 this year.
After-school care has also seen a drop from €140 to €11 while extra-curricular activities continue to be the biggest spend at €159. Up from €153 in 2018.
