The number of second-level students working part-time has more than doubled in recent years, with serious implications for their performance in State examinations, a long-awaited report to be published later today is expected to indicate.
Preliminary results of the research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), previously reported in The Irish Times, revealed that three-quarters of students working part-time spend their earnings on their social life.
Almost one in three said they spend a significant amount of this money of alcohol, with almost one in five saying they buy cigarettes. Half spend their money on clothes.
The full report, to be launched by the Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin, is also expected to indicate that students from well-off backgrounds have lower levels of involvement in part-time work, meaning their exam performance is less likely to suffer.
The Minister will publish also a separate ESRI report assessing the development of the Transition Year programme at second- level.