Friday, August 05, 2011

Charity inundated with school cost pleas

THE Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) is being inundated with appeals for financial assistance as students prepare to return to classes and lecture halls.

Professor John Monaghan, SVP’s vice-president with responsibility for social justice, welcomed the move by Social Protection Minister Joan Burton to make automatic payment of the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance to previous recipients and end the long delays.

"But one of the big problems is for families not eligible for the school uniform allowance, because they are just above the income limits or they do not get a social welfare payment but are in low-paying jobs," he said.

The number of calls from households seeking financial assistance jumped from 26,000 in 2008 to 47,000 last year in SVP’s Dublin region alone.

Of over €30 million in financial assistance to families last year, the SVP spent more than €4m helping meet educational costs, with €6m going toward home energy and heating costs and €9m to provide food for struggling households.

Prof Monaghan said 70% of families the society works with have children at school and clothing and schoolbooks are among the biggest bills for parents.

A recent survey for the Irish League of Credit Unions found that it cost almost €500 to send a second-level student back to school and over €300 for a primary pupil.

The SVP brought a petition with over 7,000 signatures to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn asking his department to set up a national school book rental scheme that could significantly reduce those costs.

The minister has asked publishers to review the production of regular revisions to textbooks that make it harder for families to buy secondhand or rent through their schools, while some parent groups believe it is up to schools themselves to avoid changing their books and using fewer workbooks that can not be resold or rented.

But Prof Monaghan said there is an additional burden for those preparing to send children to college, with a €200 fee being charged from this autumn for post-Leaving Certificate courses and a €500 increase in the student contribution for third-level students to €2,000.

"Even for those who get a grant, they are often waiting several months after college starts to get paid. So we are asked in many cases to help pay the charge."

The SVP also anticipates additional requests to help families whose children are going to college away from home but no longer qualify for higher grant rates because of changes to the distance criteria.

The Department of Education expects to save €30m a year by extending from 15 miles to 28 (24km to 45km) the distance a student must live from their college to be eligible for a non-adjacent grant rate.

"This will be the difference between paying for accommodation near college or not for many families, but if there isn’t regular transport they will be looking to us to help bridge the gap," Prof Monaghan said.