Barnardos calls for €103m to make primary education ‘free’

The Government should pledge more than €100 million to making primary school education completely free, Barnardos has said.

In its pre-budget statement, the children’s charity said the State needs to reinvest heavily in services with early childhood a priority.

Pointing to international research, it said early years investment can yield a 75 to 1,000 per cent return, visible in terms of lower crime rates, population health and social cohesion.

High among its recommendations is the need to allocate an estimated €103.2 million in primary education to reverse the experience of many parents who find it too expensive.

In order to match the standards of other EU countries, it said measures should include free school books financed to the tune of €20 million; a 15 per cent restoration of the capitation grant (costing €16.7 million); free classroom resources (€19.5 million); a removal of the need for “voluntary contributions” from parents (€42 million); and scrapping fees for school transport schemes €5 million.

Chief executive Fergus Finlay said it was a “national scandal” that one in nine children live in consistent poverty.

“Investment in prevention and early intervention services is proven to help families before an issue develops into a crisis which is better for everyone involved - the child, the parents and the State,” he said.

“It is a question of political priorities and long-term vision over short-term populist tax cuts.”

Universal Social Charge

As an example, he said, a 1 per cent reduction in the Universal Social Charge (USC) would cost the State more than €300 million, which could cover the cost of subsidised childcare, 2,000 social housing units and free school books and classroom resources.

Among its other recommendations is “adequate resourcing” for Túsla, the child and family agency which is responsible for improving child wellbeing through early intervention and support services.

“Barnardos believes Túsla should be adequately funded to allow it to intervene early and support families rather than focusing solely on crisis management due to a lack of resources,” it said, quoting an investment target of €64 million.

“All families need support at some point so it is essential that Budget 2017 commits sufficient financial resources to ensure every child can access the supports they need, when they need it,” said Barnardos head of advocacy June Tinsley.

“This commitment would put an end to endless waiting lists and too-late interventions once and for all.”

The charity said ongoing crises in the areas of housing and health were also detrimental to child welfare.