Mark Wall: Free education means free - Stop hidden costs

Go raibh maith agat Cathaoirleach. I want to begin by thanking my Labour Party colleague Deputy Eoin Kenny for bringing forward this very important motion which highlights a massive issue, Minister, for many families across this country. The cost of education report by Zurich shows that the annual cost of sending a child to primary school is now €1,794. Sending a child to secondary school is even more expensive at €2,928. This means that parents could be paying anything up to €32,000 just to put their child through what is supposed to be free education. The Labour Party are very clear. A free education means free. It does not mean voluntary contributions. It does not mean state exam fees. It does not mean €700 plus on laptops or tablets. A free education, Minister, means free. Uniform costs are placing financial pressure on working families who in most cases do not qualify for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. The parents contacting my office are telling me that they are forced to go to one supplier due to the requirement to have school branding. These parents are paying over €160 on uniforms and over €100 on shoes for secondary school students, according to a report done recently by the Irish League of Credit Unions. It is a lot on parents who are struggling as it is with the cost of living. Government needs to intervene, Minister, and mandate schools to introduce non-branded uniform clothing so that parents can shop around for the most affordable prices. I previously raised the ongoing issue of digital devices for students in this Chamber. This continues to be a source of concern for many working families in Ireland today and there is no clarity on whether these devices are mandatory or not. As you will be aware, Minister, I have received three responses from your department which states that there is no requirement for digital devices for junior or senior cycle. You have stated in your replies and confirmed this to schools as well. Yet school principals and teachers have highlighted to me that the curriculum mandates digital devices due to additional assessment components, AACs. I have raised this with your department as well in a parliamentary question to which you have stated there is no requirement currently under the new subject specifications for students to have their own laptops or devices or devices of a particular type. This is extremely confusing for many school communities and parents who are having to bear the costs of these devices. The working families coming into my office are being told that they must pay 700 euros or more for these devices and they can only be bought from a particular supplier. I have people from all over the country telling me that there is no free education in Ireland anymore. One dad has told me that he has to buy three laptops for each of his three children. That, Minister, is going to have to cost him over 2,000 euros on a cost that, Minister, your department is saying he doesn't need to spend. That's before, of course, uniform costs and voluntary contributions are even factored in. A family in County Mead tell me they are paying 600 euros. Another in Cork tell me that they are paying the same. Some parents are paying up to 1,000 euros on laptops. You can imagine what kind of pressure that is putting on families. Others are also having to pay insurance on top of this, which is adding another 100 euros on to the cost for families. Families in Kildare, Mead, Cork, Dublin, Wicklow, Watford, Longford, Tipperary and right throughout this country are contacting me and other Labour Party members saying that they don't know how they are going to afford these costs. The cost of education keeps on increasing year on year. Government were rightly praised, as has been said already, for introducing the free book scheme. But parents are telling me with this free book scheme on one hand, it's being taken away by the cost of laptops on the other hand, Minister. It is time, Minister for Education, for yourself, Minister and your department, to provide clarity to school communities and parents by making a statement before the Dáil on this matter. We cannot have parents spend their summer months worrying about this any longer. Every year, Bus Air and the Department of Education puts an enormous amount of pressure when applying for school transport, which is another cost. As a TD for Kildare South, there's a massive issue for many parents in the constituency who are fighting every year for a place for their child. Even if they are lucky enough to get a place, these families could now face up to 200 euros for a primary school and 220 for secondary school transport. In a cost of living crisis, Minister, this is an attack on working families who are doing their best to get their children to school and to get to work on time. Minister, when we factor in all these voluntary contributions, digital devices, uniforms, state exam fees, mock fees, school transport fees and more, we no longer have free education in this country. We no longer have equal starts for each of our children. The government need to deliver on the state's promise of free education. We ask you to listen to the Labour Party, listen to the parents, listen to the school communities and show up for workers. Go Raibh maith agat.