State negligence has led to parents footing the bill to keep our schools afloat to the tune of \u20ac23 million per year, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cummins said:<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring yesterday\u2019s meeting of the Oireachtas Education Committee, officials from the Department of Education confirmed that voluntary contributions and fundraising from parents across both primary and secondary schools averages at \u20ac23m annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents are taxpayers, not fundraisers. It is simply unacceptable that families are still being asked for voluntary contributions to cover the basics in schools, such as heating, electricity, classroom materials and even paper towels.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool essentials like these should already be provided for through State funding – the fact that schools are cutting music extra curricular programmes, rationing supplies, doubling charges for activities such as swimming, and foregoing important learning equipment just to stay open is deeply worrying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese conditions widen the gap for children of parents who can afford extra curriculars and those who cannot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent increase in the capitation grant does not account for the sheer scale of the shortfall – it does not match inflation or restore funding to levels that ensure schools are properly resourced.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result, schools remain financially vulnerable, and parents continue to feel compelled to contribute – in the worst instances, there\u2019s no other choice as schools are forced to wind down essential aspects of their services without contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducation must be genuinely free, guaranteed by adequate, sustainable State funding so that no school has to rely on so-called \u2018voluntary\u2019 contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means removing hidden costs such as uniforms, books and family donations. We must ensure every child has access to a properly resourced, inclusive education regardless of their family\u2019s financial circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Social Democrats are committed to making primary and secondary education in Ireland completely free, through fully-funded classroom resources, free school transport, adequate capitation grants, and the banning of \u2018voluntary\u2019 contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese measures were costed in our Alternative Budget at \u20ac75 million, showing this is a question of political will, rather than finances – the government must stop leaning on families, end its stop-gap approach, and adopt progressive policies like these to make education equitable and accessible for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
November 27th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" State negligence has led to parents footing the bill to keep our schools afloat to the tune of \u20ac23 million per year, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins. Deputy Cummins said: \u201cDuring yesterday\u2019s meeting of the Oireachtas Education Committee, officials from the Department of Education confirmed that voluntary contributions and fundraising from parents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,581,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-jen-cummins","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n