Schools forcing ‘voluntary contributions’ on parents face scrutiny

Any school which forces parents to pay "voluntary contributions" will face investigation, Minister for Education Richard Bruton has warned.

He said financial contributions may only be sought from parents on the basis that a child’s place in a school is not dependant on making a contribution.

The warning comes amid ongoing reports that some schools are making donations mandatory for children’s participation in class and other core activities.

A key requirement of the free education scheme – first introduced in the 1960s – is that contributions may only be sought on a voluntary basis. The rules do not apply to fee-paying schools.

Mr Bruton said officials at the department will investigate any allegations where contributions are said to be compulsory in nature.

“It is very clear there cannot be a charge which is obligatory,” Mr Bruton told RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show.

“Voluntary contributions have to be voluntary, or for an added extra which students can opt out of if they so choose.”

The Minister also said schools will be banned from charging fees as part of the enrolment process under legislation due to come into force next year.

This provision will form part of a wider plan to make admissions procedures fairer and more transparent.

One of these measures includes the phasing out of waiting lists, which are seen to discriminate against immigrants or parents who have relocated within Ireland.

A spokesman for Mr Bruton said no decision has been made on whether admissions legislation will limit the number of places that can be set aside for children of past-pupils.

Teacher unrest

His predecessor Jan O’Sullivan had planned to force schools to set aside a maximum of 10 per cent of places for children of past-pupils, though the legislation was never enacted.

The proposed move faced resistance from a number of Fine Gael TDs in the last Dáil.

Mr Bruton also said his “door is open” to holding talks with members of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) who last week voted to reject working additional hours.

The move raises the prospect of pay cuts and school closures in the autumn, unless these issues are resolved in the meantime.

The Minister warned, however, that additional hours were important to delivering a better education service and any move to cease working the hours will “have consequences”.

“The Lansdowne Road agreement is designed to give benefits to people at work in the public service; it provides additional pay, access to increments and payment in the case of teaching supervision, and so on,” he said. “If the ASTI decides to opt out, it has consequences.”

The department’s secretary general said earlier this month that teachers who withdraw these hours risk losing out on thousands of euro in pay increments and other sources of income over the coming years.

On the issue of third-level funding, Mr Bruton acknowledged that the sector had been hit worse than some others over recent years.

He said he recently received a report on funding options for the third-level sector and hoped the Dáil could reach a consensus on a way forward.

Any moves to reform the funding model, he said, will need to ensure that they do not disadvantage students from less well-off backgrounds.