Tough times for parents as school time beckons

THE next couple of weeks are set to be difficult from a financial point of view for many families as they face costs of going back to school and college.
Cathal Oakes of the Clare branch of St Vincent De Paul said it is too early to say if recent changes to third-level grants will cause people to abandon education but that it is likely to make it harder for some.
“It’s too early to say that it will cause people to drop out but it will put extra pressure on the system. If people apply to us for help, we have a team that look at applications and they would be people who have a background in education.”
He said that St Vincent De Paul have started an online petition to cut the cost of school books for families. The St Vincent De Paul want to see a book rental scheme introduced, something that is in place in most European countries and which they claim would benefit every family.
Mr Oakes said parents have been told they will not receive allowances in advance of the start of the year.
“There have been delays and people have been told that they won’t receive payments until the second or third week of September. People are looking for help and the St Vincent De Paul is forced into being a bridging facility for the Government.”
He said he was anxious that people would go to the St Vincent De Paul if things got too much for them. “August is always a difficult time. You might have seen reports this week that people are taking out loans for children going back to school. We would like people to stay self-sufficient as much as possible but if they can’t they should come to us.”
Paul Woulfe of the Citizens’ Information Centre in Ennis said they have had quite a lot of enquiries about supports for school children.
“A lot of parents are paying for uniforms, books, all of that and a lot come into us looking for information about what supports are there.”
He said responsibility for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear allowance has been transferred to the Department of Education. “Most people on social welfare will have it automatically processed now, before they would have had to apply to the community welfare officer.” However, he said some will not qualify due to means test.
Mr Woulfe said that while at one time, people returning to college could potentially receive a Back to Education allowance as well as a standard student maintenance grant, it is no longer possible to collect both.