Parents are contributing an average of 400 euro a month per child for third level education.
That's according to a survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions which also shows that 80 per cent of parents have to lend financial support to struggling students.
71 per cent of parents now say their family budget has been adversely impacted by the increase in registration fees for college.
Spokesperson, Mandy Johnston, says while there are some negative findings the outlook of the survey is becoming more positive:
