This week Susan, a mother in south Dublin, was trying to make sense of charges sought by her daughter’s school in advance of the start of the new academic year.
Our Lady’s Grove Secondary School in Dublin 14, which is part of the State’s free education scheme, seeks a €250 voluntary contribution per family. In addition there is a €250 “essential service charge” which is due from all students.
“If the service charge is not paid you won’t get a locker or journal,” says Susan. “It is not voluntary and there is no breakdown of what the €250 covers. In contrast, my son’s school charges €100. I can’t understand how they can get away with this when they are supposed to be a non-fee-paying school.”
She says she also pays the separate voluntary contribution, but feels there is a lack of transparency over what it goes towards.
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In response, Our Lady’s Grove Secondary School says costs that are not covered by State funding are regularly discussed with its parents’ association and are included on its admissions policy.
“Our board made the decision this year to make participation in all our school sports free,” says principal Colm Dooley. “This includes supervision, coaching, facilities, equipment and entry to interschools competitions and leagues.”
He says the school has invested in sports facilities and has increased the number of students taking part in sport.
“We want young people in our care to not have barriers to participation, as we know how important participation, belonging and success are to their wellbeing,” he says. “The board wishes to trial this measure and review its success. This strategy accounts for our first financial increase in my memory and probably much longer.”
For Susan, meanwhile – who has other children attending primary and second level – the return to school comes with a heavy financial toll.
“I know schools don’t get the funding they need, so I understand why they seek charges. But school is meant to be free. There should at least be a limit to these costs,” she says.
Despite the Constitution’s solemn pledge, Ireland has never had free primary – or secondary – education. For years parents have forked out on books, “voluntary contributions”, service charges and fundraising in order to help schools keep their heads above water.
Ironically, a year ago it seemed like we had the first tantalising glimpse of what a truly free education system might look like.
In a landmark move, Minister for Education Norma Foley announced primary pupils would receive free schoolbooks from September, a saving for parents of about €100 per child. Costs were waived for school transport. In addition, schools were given a once-off €90 million grant to pay for energy bills, the equivalent of a 40 per cent increase in capitation rates.
[ Most parents cutting back on extracurricular activities ahead of new school yearOpens in new window ]
Costs, however, are creeping upwards and hefty charges remain.
Latest research from the Irish League of Credit Unions estimates that parents will pay an average of €1,152 for a child at primary school and €1,288 at second level this year. This is based on 700 respondents who were asked about the cost of uniforms, voluntary contributions, devices, books and extracurricular activities. Almost one in three parents said they would go into debt to cover these back-to-school costs.
Voluntary contributions, however, are among the biggest bugbear for parents.
This week, The Irish Times reported that parents were paying about €30 million a year in “voluntary contributions” to schools to help plug gaps in finances, based on Department of Education data in 2021.
These contributions likely understated the full extent to which parents were subsidising education given that many schools increasingly seek separate “school charges” for photocopying, art materials and other expenses.
Foley pointed to the Education Act, which states that no fee can be charged for the provision of education under the curriculum.
“I want to be very clear: voluntary contributions are, as their names suggest, voluntary. No fee can be charged for the provision of education as per the curriculum,” she said.
“There is a disconnect between what ministers for education say and what happens in schools. Sometimes parents do feel under pressure and children get letters from the school”
Charities, on the other hand, say that although voluntary contributions are not mandatory, many feel compelled to pay them.
There is also, say many, a grey area between voluntary contributions and mandatory charges. For example, is photocopying or art material – typically categorised as a mandatory charge – related to the curriculum or not?
The National Parents Council says that although successive ministers for education have maintained no parent has to pay a contribution, this is no longer enough.
“That response is not working,” says the council’s chief executive, Áine Lynch. “There is a disconnect between what ministers for education say and what happens in schools. Sometimes parents do feel under pressure, and children get letters from the school . . . The complexity of the relationship with schools makes parents feel under pressure to pay.”
For schools, the need for voluntary contributions is simple: they are not paid enough to meet their day-to-day expenses.
Linda Dennehy, principal of Scoil Íosagáin Infant School in Mallow, Co Cork, says she wishes she didn’t have to ask parents for financial support.
The school, which has a relatively high proportion of students from more disadvantaged backgrounds, seeks voluntary contributions of €50 per child or €75 per family. Dennehy estimates that if 60-70 per cent of parents pay the contribution, it will bring in about €5,000.
“That money will go towards arts, games and classroom resources,” she says. “There’s a new maths curriculum being rolled out, but we have no new resources to deliver it. Then there are expenses which are spiralling, like insurance, heating and lighting.”
The school, she says, is facing hard choices such as whether to cut back on cleaning or caretaking hours.
“Our funding is to cover the bare essentials. There are more middle-class schools which might put money towards more exciting things like outside tutors or trainers, but we’re not at that level at all.
“That hardest part is saying no all the time. Staff might have a nice idea or a request, and it is heartbreaking to turn it down. They stop approaching you with ideas, then, which isn’t right,” she says.
The Irish Primary Principals’ Network estimates that most schools operate at a deficit of 10-15 per cent every year. Some secondary schools say the funding gap is wider at 20-30 per cent of their real costs.
To reduce the financial burden facing parents and schools, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has called on the Government to fully fund schools and is seeking a 20 per cent increase in the school capitation grant.
The union says primary schools receive a capitation grant of about €1 per pupil per school day to cover running costs, while second-level schools receive almost double that amount.
“Prior to the pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis, schools were already struggling to meet basic expenditure. Schools must not be expected to fundraise to meet basic expenses, and parents must not be relied upon to keep schools afloat,” says the union.
Foley, who faces competing demands for funding over the coming months, says there has never been as much money invested in education.
But for parents such as Susan, the promise of free education seems as far away as ever.
“It’s not free. You have to set aside a huge amount of money between college fees, books at second level and other charges. I understand why they need money, but at the very least there should be a limit.”
Back-to-school costs 2023: in numbers
€1,288
Cost of sending a child to secondary school
€1,152
Cost of sending a child to primary school
€101
Average “voluntary” contribution at primary school
€143
Average “voluntary” contribution at second level
€0
Average cost of schoolbooks at primary level
€218
Average cost of schoolbooks at second level
€247
Average cost of digital tools at second level
€48
Average cost of digital tools at primary level
Sources: Irish League of Credit Unions, Barnardos
