This article is from page 12 of the 2012-08-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE cost of sending children to school has become too much for many Clare families with large numbers turning to charities such as the St Vincent de Paul for help and record numbers applying for government supports such as the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. With the cost of kitting out a child for primary school now as high as € 700 for some families, anecdotal evidence indicated that money lend ers have began door-stepping some houses, offering money to cover school expenses. With primary school also suffering budget cuts from central government, many parents have found themselves unable to pay voluntary contribution towards the operation of their children’s primary school. Indeed, according to Clare teachers and former head of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), Bernie Ruane, in many schools only one in every five families are in a position to make a voluntary contribution. Large delays have also been seen in the processing of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. This follows a situation last year when a large number of families were refused payments under the scheme – which has created a backlog in processing claims with a large number of people reapplying for the scheme.