‘Donegal families having to choose between paying a mortgage and a child's uniform'

Deputy Charles Ward has said that Donegal families in defective concrete homes are struggling to pay for school uniforms due to the ‘unbearable cost’ of the defective concrete crisis, as well as the ‘desperate cost of living crisis'.

He said: ‘Parents are trying to heat their homes and pay their mortgage, and they’re being squeezed to death. They cannot pay for school uniforms. Many homeowners face impossible decisions like whether to pay the mortgage in September or put a uniform on their child’s back.

The Donegal Deputy was speaking on Sinn Féin’s Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025 and criticised the rising cost of school uniforms.

He said: ‘Uniforms are supposed to signify unity and equality, but now they just mean another additional cost for families, at a time when the price of everything continues to rise. It is between €40 to €50 for one secondary school jumper now, and you’re lucky if you get a year out of it. Between needing spares, wear and tear, and the fact that children and teenagers grow rapidly, multiple jumpers are a necessity. This means hundreds of euros for just one item of the school uniform, for just one child. If you have multiple children, you are paying far, far more!’

The 100% Redress TD said that this is reflected in recently published research from the Irish League of Credit Unions, which found that one in three parents now say that they get into debt covering back-to-school costs, and over a third of parents say that they are forced to deny their children at least one back-to-school item.

He said: ‘The total Back to School spend in 2025 is shocking. It now costs €1,450 for primary school parents and €1,560 for secondary school parents to send their children to school in September.’

Deputy Ward said that schools are increasingly turning to expensive, branded options under the guise of promoting equality and inclusivity: "Really this has just caused additional stress for parents, and has actually caused the exclusion of students who, in some cases, are not allowed to take part in activities without school-branded clothing."

Deputy Ward claimed: ‘It is a ridiculous situation that students are actually being excluded as a result of school uniform policies. It completely goes against the intentions of the uniform in the first place. Students are often then subjected to harsh disciplinary action for not adhering to the school’s uniform policy, despite the fact that schools themselves don’t seem to be adhering to Circular 0032/2017, which included measures to reduce the cost of school uniforms.’