I thank the Labour Party for this timely and important motion. Sinn Féin supports this motion because the cost of sending children to school has become an unacceptable financial burden on families across the State. While the free book scheme is very welcome, the problem now is that the savings that many families receive are being completely undermined by mandatory ICT costs. In her opening statement, the Minister said schools should use the ICT fund in this case but was this fund not cut by €15 million? You really could not make it up. The Government cuts the fund and then tells schools to use it. The reality is that a growing digital divide is emerging in our schools, and while the Government celebrates its announcements, parents are being asked to pay more and more simply to ensure their child or children can fully participate in education. So much for free education. The Zurich cost of education survey shows that the annual cost to parents now is almost €1,800 for a child in primary school, and almost €3,000 for a child in secondary school. That is per child. Even more shocking is the number of parents taking out loans to meet these costs. That number doubled between 2025 and 2026. How on earth can that be described as free education? At a time when families should be proudly taking photographs of their children on their first day back at school, many parents are instead lying awake at night, wondering how they are going to pay the bills. The Minister said school costs should not stand in the way of education but as she can see here today, they do, and she needs to listen and act on that. The State needs to step up and properly fund schools. We need an end to the so-called voluntary contributions. We need action to reduce school uniform costs, and we need proper funding for digital services so that all children can access them. We also need the expansion of a genuinely universal hot meals scheme. The truth is that schools are being so badly underfunded that parents are being forced to subsidise essential education activities. This year alone, at least 47 schools have been referred to the financial support services unit. That is a staggering 38% increase. While Government Members will stand up and list the things they have done, some which are very welcome, they will conveniently ignore the things they have done to make life harder. They have reintroduced State examination fees, increased school transport fees, and cut the school clothing and footwear allowance. Most importantly, research from the Economic and Social Research Institute, ERSI, and University of Limerick, UL, is now confirming what parents and teachers have been telling us for years, and what the Government has chosen to ignore, namely the digital divide is real, and educational inequality is growing. The Government has been sitting back while schools are left with no choice but to pass the costs on to parents because Ministers have continually failed to properly fund our education system.

Sentiment score: 0.06