‘We're in a dire situation': Parents fundraising ‘an average of €10,000 per primary school'
The poll of 227 schools was conducted last month by the Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA), which supports about 85 per cent of all primary schools across the State.
It found that capitation funding for primary schools, the main source of State funding, on average falls about €25,000 short of real costs. Capitation funding is geared towards general upkeep costs, such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and day-to-day costs.
Edel Ní Bhroin, principal of Scoil Aonghusa in Drogheda, Co Louth, said the quality of education available to primary school pupils suffers due to the large amounts of time and energy devoted to meeting basic running costs.
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'The children miss out because the focus can't be on the teaching and learning 100 per cent,' Ms Ní Bhroin said.
She pointed to primary schools' reliance on parents' fundraising efforts through events such as raffles and bake sales, which is highlighted in CPSMA's report.
Describing the great lengths the families of Scoil Aonghusa's 170 pupils go to, Ms Ní Bhroin said parent Patrick Carolan recently participated in a 24-hour cycle challenge around Kildare's Mondello track, with sponsorship from members of the school community amounting to €6,200 raised.
'It's not fair that parents have to make up the shortfall in Government funding,' she said.
Another principal commented in the survey: 'We are in a dire situation. Costs are spiralling out of control. The costs of a box of A4 copier paper and day-to-day items such as toilet paper, soap, etc have skyrocketed since Covid.'
Schools say they are being forced to take a range of cost-saving measures to get by, such as reducing expenditure on school tours – a reality Ms Ní Bhroin's school is facing.
In January, Scoil Aonghusa received €25,515 – 70 per cent of its capitation funding – and received the remaining €10,935 in June 2025 to meet total running costs.
Having paid for insurance, light, heat and cleaning bills up to March, Ms Ní Bhroin said just €8,800 remained in school funds at that time.
'This is the bare-minimum stuff, this is not extra. This is literally just the skin and bones of trying to keep your school afloat and to try to give the best possible experience for your children. There's no fluff there.'
Ms Ní Bhroin carried out her own survey among 23 school principals in Co Louth, which she said brought to light 'the stress and surprising shame that school leaders and management feel about the precarious financial situation they are experiencing'.
'School communities are not being informed openly of the situation for fear that it may reflect negatively on their school.'
She called on Minister for Education
Helen McEntee
to deliver equal capitation grants for primary schools and secondary schools 'to ensure fairness for all children'.
The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per secondary school student. From September 2025, budget increases will see this rise to €224 per primary school pupil and €386 per student in post-primary school.
When asked to calculate the level of capitation funding per pupil, surveyed, schools reported that matching the €386 received at second level was 'vital' to meeting additional running costs due to inflation.
The report found that recruitment expenses cost €964.40 on average, with some larger schools reporting expenses in excess of €2,000.
An average of €4,326.37 was spent on the maintenance of special educational needs (SEN) equipment in the 2023-2024 academic year. While schools are provided with initial funding to buy such equipment, regular maintenance and annual certification requirements proves costly.
Seamus Mulconry, general secretary of the CPSMA, said post-pandemic inflation has 'shredded' school budgets.
'Primary schools have always been underfunded. This survey shows that some are now under water financially,' Mr Mulconry said.
'Post-pandemic inflation has shredded school budgets, exhausted reserves and put many schools into an unsustainable position. We need a big increase in capitation this year just to keep schools going.'
A spokesman for the Department of Education said the Government is committed to increasing capitation funding for schools of all types 'to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs and reduce the financial burden on families'.
Pointing to measures announced in Budget 2025, including the 12 per cent rise in capitation rates from September for primary and post-primary schools, he said: 'this increase to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs will cost €30 million.
'This builds on increases provided in the previous year's budget, which is resulting in a 22 per cent increase over two years in the level of capitation rates paid to schools. An additional €45 million in cost-of-living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme was also announced to help them deal with increased costs.'
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