Two Thirds Of Parents In Leinster Have Said Back To School Costs Are A Financial Burden, Report Finds

Wednesday, 6 July 2022 09:53

By Caoimhe Harney

It found 87% of Leinster respondents have been affected by the rising costs of living since the start of the year.

Two thirds of Leinster parents 67% say the cost of covering back to school is a financial burden, up 6% from last year, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions’ annual survey.

It found that parents in Leinster are spending €1,134 per primary school child and €1,511 on secondary school children

Some, 31% are getting debt, with an average debt of €327, according to the survey.

While, three quarters, 74% of Leinster parents feel that schools don’t do enough to keep the costs of back to school down.

The survey found that almost 25% of parents in Leinster are using credit cards to purchase back to school items

Another 75% of Leinster parents are forced to deny their children extracurricular activities because they can’t afford them, this figure is higher than the national average.

This year’s survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions’ also looked at the rising costs of living in general, it found 87% of Leinster respondents have been affected by the rising costs of living since the start of the year.

While, 91% in Leinster are seeing additional costs for groceries and 90% are experiencing increased costs on household utility bills.

It found that 4 in 10, 38% are struggling to make their budget stretch to cover additional costs and when asked what options they were considering to help with costs, 67% of this group said they are cancelling or reducing non-essential services and activities such as gym membership and subscription TV packages.

Other options include trying to earn additional income 27% and taking a personal loan 15%.

When Leinster parents were asked if the rising costs of living were affecting the costs of education, 59% said the increasing costs of food for children for school lunches was having the biggest impact, followed by costs of new school uniforms 53%.

Some 43% of Leinster parents with schoolchildren will have to balance working from either at home or the office with looking after their children over the school holidays.

Nearly a half of these parents said they will be using annual leave allowance to balance work and school holidays.