Roughly 1 in 10 parents have to borrow money to cover school costs.
That's just one of the findings from a new Barnardos survey of the expenses facing the parents of primary and secondary school children:
In its survey of 1,400 parents, it found that almost half don't pay bills in order to finance things like uniforms, books and footwear.
It also found that around 7 in 10 parents continue to be asked for a voluntary contribution from schools, while 3 in 4 primary and 9 in 10 secondary parents say they're still asked to buy branded uniforms.
Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly says there are significant costs associated with sending a child to school, and it's something the government needs to urgently look at: 'If there was the introduction of free school books, it would make a significant difference'.
The charity's also calling for over 200 million euro extra to be invested into primary and secondary education each year to help struggling parents and for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance to be restored to 2010 levels.
