High cost of uniforms in question at Longford VEC

The cost of buying school uniforms is setting families back hundreds of euro each year, new research has found.

According to a draft discussion paper released by the Irish Vocational Education Association, secondary school clothing is presently costing anything between €150 and €174 per child with bills of up to €125 for those attending primary school.

The contents of the document led to a lengthy discussion at Monday evening’s monthly meeting of Co Longford VEC. Cllr Sean Farrell said the introduction of uniforms had been a “great leveller”.

Other members of the committee took somewhat differing views, not least parents representative Willie Dennigan who also raised doubts about the increasing weight of school bags.

“People who have three or four children attending scecondary school, the costs can really mount up,” he said.