Submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills on Textbook Rental Schemes, the use of Technology for Educational Purposes and the Necessity to Resort to Moneylenders to Cover School Costs

Abstract

Our submission is based on what parents tell us each year in our school costs survey. Since 2005, Barnardos has been highlighting the costs incurred by parents in preparing their children to return to school in September. Each year, parents describe the substantial costs imposed on them and the impact that this financial burden has on them and on their household budget. In doing so, they clearly demonstrate that the mantra of free education rings hollow.