Government must stop forcing schools to relyon ‘voluntary contributions’and inject funding into schools – Darren O’Rourke TD
Tuesday 1st July 2025, 14:56 pm
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Education and Youth, Darren O’Rourke TD, has called for an immediate injection of government funding into schools as pressure mounts on parents to help with rising costs.
It’s estimated that parents are paying about €54 million to help subsidise free education through so-called ‘voluntary contributions’ at primary level.
In the coming weeks, Sinn Féin will re-introduce legislation which seeks to ensure the Minister for Education will provide regulations governing the collection of school contributions from parents.
Teachta O’Rourke said:
“This government seems happy to allow schools to ask parents to pick up the bill to cover funding shortfalls. So many schools are forced to rely on so-called voluntary contribution payments from parents to cover basic running costs.
“The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and Caotholic Primary School Management Organisation (CPSMA) have both advocated for an increase in the school capitation grant as schools struggle to keep afloat. The increase of €24 to primary schools capitation grants for 2025/2026 has already been ruled insufficient.
“The past two years there has been a major increase in schools having to contact the financial support services unit in the Department of Education for assistance in covering their costs. The CPSMA have also stated that they have never been contacted by so many schools with financial problems as they were last year.
“This is a direct result of a combination of inadequate capitation grants which, incredibly, is still at 2008 levels, and a fall of €14 million in the school ICT grant and minor works programme, which came as a blow to many schools that had budgeted with the expectation that funding would remain the same as last year.
“It is estimated parents will pay about €54 million to help subsidise ‘free education’. This is an absolute farce – free education should mean free education.
“In the coming weeks, Sinn Féin will be re-introducing our 2021 Voluntary Contributions Bill which will ensure the Minister for Education makes regulations to govern the collection of voluntary contributions by schools from parents.
“The cost-of-living crisis is continuing to spiral out of control. Parents should not have to prop up the education system because of insufficient funding.
“I urge Minister McEntee to heed the warnings from schools and begin to inject vital funding into our schools.”
