The number of people contacting St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) for help with back to school costs has dropped this year.
Calls for help with education costs are down 20% compared to last year, according to a survey of the charity's regional offices.
However, general calls for help continue to rise.
SVP's Head of Social Justice and Policy, Dr. Tricia Keilthy, says many families are still struggling to afford basics such as food and energy.
"We're still getting significant numbers of calls from parents who are struggling with other issues like secondary school costs or requests for voluntary contributions.
"It's also important to say that while our calls for help with education costs are down, overall calls are up by 14% and that's mainly been driven by requests for help with paying for food and energy bills".
SVP record a 20% decrease in calls for help with back-to-school costs.
Click here to read our Press Release -https://t.co/YnmW6M8qPx#backtoschool #educationmatters #supportingfamilies #financialassistance #communitysupport pic.twitter.com/yXIVIJEbkw— SVP - Ireland (@SVP_Ireland) August 31, 2023
SVP says the new free schoolbook scheme for primary school children has brought welcome relief to families.
Calls for help with primary school costs are down, which Dr. Keilthy says is due to government funding to cover the cost of schoolbooks.
"This just shows when we invest in children and invest in our education system, we can make a difference.
"So, we'd like to see progress made on education costs in the upcoming budget to expand free school books to secondary school students.
"We also really want to see an end to voluntary contributions, which can only be achieved by providing schools with proper funding".
