If I remember correctly, I think mine was a involuntary contribution, meaning you had to pay it. I remember actually the vice principal coming around to classes more or less embarrassing the kids asking in front of class why it wasn’t paid. I remember thinking at the time that it wasn’t right. Take it up with the parents.

this may sound like a really stupid question/comment but i just want to clarify… im asked to pay 40e per child for maintenance fees these fees are to pay for photocopying utilities etc. i have 2 children attending the school so that’s a cost of 80e on top of books uniforms etc. is this fee a so called voluntary fee? i genuinely couldn’t afford it last year and was hounded for weeks until i finally felt i had no choice but to pay it. my poor daughter was so stressed about it and she had only started school. i always wondered why they photo copy so much when they have so many books.

In my school If you can’t pay parents have to write a letter explaining why, times are tough etc. I still don’t even think that’s right.

I don’t get it? The majority of the comments are directed at the schools…. What I don’t understand is…. Why aren’t comments being directed at the people who screwed this country during the Celtic Tiger, the folks who continue to line their pockets and business owners who don’t pay their taxes? It appears that the schools are trying to do the best they can while trying to provide the best education possible to the nation’s children.

My old school would call parents 2 – 3 times to chase down unpaid voluntary contributions, and would even go as far as sending out a letter with payment instructions to try get the €360 payment.

€100 for registration ontop of that, it’s a bit of a piss take really. It’s supposed to cover photocopying and printing.

I have three kids.
Book costs went in to the hundreds – school clothing was not far behind.

…Then a Drogheda school tells us we have to pay €80 for each of our kids for paper for the year = thats €240 for paper, from us!

250+ kids in the school.
80x250 = €20,000 for paper for one term!

What in gods green earth are they doing with that much supposed paper?

Its a con job!

Ask for a receipt

As a teacher, who was on the Board of Management of our school for 5 years, I can tell that contributions are needed for the everyday functioning of most schools.

The first thing that should be understood is that capitation grants differ depending on the type of school. Voluntary secondary schools are the least funded though they constitute at least half of the schools in the country. The contributions in these schools usually pay for utility bills and any improvements/ renovations.

However other schools (often with religious ethos’) use registration grants or fees to screen who can come to/ apply to their school. This goes beyond the needs of the school and is more about social exclusion.

Thus if you can pay and choose not to, you are letting your neighbour pay. If on the other hand you can’t pay- you can’t pay- simple. Students were publicly pressurised in the past and that was/is unacceptable.

Clearly we do not have a system of free education. If people want one they must vote for a party that espouses those principles, though this would involve higher taxes which the Irish electorate seem to find abhorrent.

I will pay these fees if the school will feed my kids as i have no money left to give.or if school wants i will march with the teachers on the dail.If one parent from each pupil goes and the ASTI,I think an eyebrow might raise!

I was lucky enough to have always had the ‘voluntary contribution’ paid by my parents for me but every year I would feel horrible for the kids that didn’t have it in .. In my school it included payment for a locker .. The principal/vice principal would bully and embarrass the kids until either the parents gave in or the school would give in but make it very clear to the child that they were going to give them a locker out of the good of their heart and that it’s just a pity they’re too needy to pay it themselves! It was a poorly run school but it was terrible

My daughter’s secondary school calls it the “family contribution”, my husband found out last year that it is voluntary so we’ve only paid half since.

I don’t understand what it’s for. We have to pay a fee for home ec then for her exam papers and an admin fee too, so what is the extra €100 supposed to cover?

How about a school in Tramore looking for the parents to donate €50 each to fund the tiling of the local church….I kid you not….disgrace!!!!

I simply don’t pay it, my kids’ school sends out a ‘reminder’ to those who haven’t paid. I can’t afford it, simple as that. Schocking to hear how schools shame students and parents.

my parents had to help in the end. i didn’t realise this fee wasnt mandatory in all schools. the way they harassed my children it felt like we were breaking the law or something! i should have been more assertive and firm

I haven’t paid in the last 2 years simply because I couldn’t afford too. I was never asked why i didnt or when I would pay. Diff methods of dealing with these issues in diff schools.
@ Sarah don’t go putting urself in debt or feel you have too worry over a voluntary contribution. I’m certainly not.

Easy or them to say don’t worry about it. It’s all well and good till the teachers point out in front of the whole class who has and hasn’t paid the “voluntary” contribution! Embarrassing the children to try and get the cash. Greedy feckers

€60 for books and €30 for other stuff like book loan and photocopying. I agree with others there is way to much use of the photocopier in school. Get the kids to write it out in thier books… that way they will learn to read and write quicker get more understanding of the subject as they have to read and then write out the stuff…

Schools should provide a detailed break down of any and all “fees” they are asking for whether they are voluntary or other wise. that way parents can see what they are paying for and if they want pay for the items they feel they shoyld make a contribution to and not the ones they done.

In many schools this money is essential to pay for electricity, heating, bins, toilet roll. What the department gives doesn’t nearly cover these bills. I understand people are under pressure but so are the schools.

My eldest started secondary school on Monday and we went in for his induction and within ten mins parents had been given an extra list of books(I had just spent nearly €500 on his books at this stage) and had to pay €30 for locker and homework journal. At the beginning of summer we had to pay the €180 fee for arts etc. It’s all a money racket to be honest. Now I don’t even have the money to pay for my youngest arts and crafts etc,who is starting school next week. Free education should be re worded to suck parents dry education

There is a ‘simple’ answer: just say “No”. Keep saying it until the demand stops. Remind the school that it is voluntary. If pressure is applied to the children hassle the school. Teach children to speak up and tell staff to discuss it with the parents. Don’t make it the children’s problem, nor the family’s. Sheet it home where it belongs.

If schools are so hard up on the upkeep of the school here is a thought, get parents to send in a small bag for the child to contain toilet paper, soap, towel and a pair of indoor shoes. This will cut the costs of sanitary products, electricity bill where electric dryers are installed and a cleaning bill as floors would not get as dirty with indoor shoes. At least this way parents are not under pressure to pay the hefty amount the schools like to call “voluntary contribution” and still save the school money therefore making a contribution.

@Sarah the one thing i ensure i pay is the school insurance. I made the mistake of not paying it last year in.error & ended up costing me a small fortune as my son had an accident at school! typical the one year i forget about paying it is the one year i pay for not doing it!!!

Maybe we should go back to the days of the children bringing a sod of turf each day to school to heat it, oh wait we are not allowed to cut turf anymore, but on a more serious note, maybe schools should wait until the school year is well underway to ask for the contributions as September is a very expensive time to send children back to school, even if one starts shopping for books etc as soon as book list is issued but i have one huge pet hate and that is the asking for acceptance fee to be paid in the october of the year the child in 6th class for their place in 1st year, otherwise you will lose the place, grrrr that gets me. But for the vol contributions i ring them and make arrangements to pay so much a week until paid but finding it difficult to do that this year, trying to pay college fees etc as well, the joys of free education. In saying that i am thankful that my children are all being very well taught and enjoy school

Some parents can’t pay. They should not feel under pressure to pay. But the reason they are put under pressure is because more and more people are not paying because of the noble ‘principle’ of not contributing every spare cent to their child’s education.

We have hugely subsidised third level education, free primary and secondary education and a low income tax rate compared to successful European countries. At second level this atrocious shortfall is met only slightly by a contribution to the school. Give up the tv (160€) or the fags (???) or the pint at the end of the week (250€ in a year) and help increase the standard of your child’s education.

I remember when I was in secondary they were forever collecting for a new mini bus, even after it was announced that the 3 schools in the town were going to be amalgamated. This usually took the form of a raffle two or three times a year, failure to sell the tickets by such and such a date resulted in, as a previous poster mentioned, being called out in front of everybody and asked why you haven’t sold them, ranging all the way up to detention, a particular problem if like me you depended on a bus to get home.

We ll be home schooling them shortly the way things are going. What subject is next? Double maths with daddy!

Yes they have Robert….costs €50 per tile and the school were asking families to donate money towards this!!! The school also asked for a donation towards the school….joke….costs approximately €350 per child to get them clothed, buy books and pay for stationary costs etc and the school has the cheek to think parents would have spare cash left after all the above to DONATE to them.

Wouldn’t give a cent !!!!
Free education my ****

We pay 2 euro per family every week. It is used for extra costs like, buses, drama, swimming etc… Its not a lot and does help, I don’t mind we have a great school!

I would like to ask that something be done about the books I have thrown in the recycling this week. Its a disgrace that we cant pass them on, ‘can’t use it mom, we need the new edition’ they said. I have tried to find somewhere we can send them to but, seemingly they are useless and cannot be used. I believe, with three children, two in secondary, one in national school, I have binned around 600 euro worth of perfectly good books. Its a disgrace!

Why do much anger targeted at schools? Try targeting it at dept which grossly underfunds our school system! In our school vol contribution has been replaced by requisite money…for art and craft, copying, class costs, text a parent- all teachers have to hand up class accounts at end of year.Just a note, photocopying costs are not just paper, but also copier costs printing cartridges, maintenance and repairs etc etc

I don’t think we should have to pay for anything. Not for schools, hospitals, roads. And we should not have to pay any tax either. The magical fairy should provide everything free. Its our entitlement. Magic beans will pay for it all