ASKING PARENTS TO pay voluntary contributions to schools needs to end, according to Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.

As September approaches, back to school costs must be tackled, he said, stating that asking parents to pay voluntary contributions to their child’s school, when they don’t have the money, brings a “sense of shame”.

Parents are generally asked to pay voluntary contributions to schools at the beginning of each school year, with the cost of the contribution ranging from €60 for a senior infants pupil to €115 for a first year student.

He said these sort of conversations at the school gates with the teacher or principal should not be happening, and called on the government to support Labour’s proposed ban on school contributions.

In today’s poll, we ask: Should voluntary contributions to schools be scrapped?

