Clarke calls for follow up on

Access to education must be “genuinely free” one Longford Westmeath Sinn Féin TD has demanded. The opposition party's spokesperson, Sorca Clarke TD, on Education said government action to make education free and accessible to everyone must be immediate.

The comments arose following a Sinn Féin motion calling on the government to cancel planned increases in student fees and expand the Free Book Scheme to include secondary schools. The motion was passed in the Dáil yesterday.

Deputy Clarke said: “I welcome that the government has this evening passed Sinn Féin’s motion, which called on them to cancel their planned increases in student fees and to expand the Free Book Scheme to include secondary schools.”

She entreated the government to follow up on the motion: “What we now need to see from the government is action. Education costs are an even bigger worry for many this year as the cost of living crisis continues, and there has been an appalling legacy of underfunding by successive governments in the education sector.”

Deputy Clarke said action is required to “ease the pressure on parents and students”. She added: “Primary and post-primary education in this state is intended to be ‘free’, under constitution and legislation, but is a total myth in reality.

“Government can and must extend the School Books Scheme to post-primary schools - that would at least be one meaningful step to ease the financial burden on parents of post-primary students who are already worried about back-to-school costs now.”