Back-to-school Costs 2012
1 August 2012
The National Consumer Agency has published research about back-to-school costs in Ireland.
The survey, carried out by Amárach Research, found that parents estimate back-to-school costs of €487 for each child attending primary school and €620 for a secondary school child.
The research also found that this year, 78% of parents are more concerned about back-to-school costs than last year.
The research was conducted by means of face-to-face interviews with 1,002 people aged 15-74 in June 2012.
Of 1,002 participants in the survey, 251 had children who will attend primary or secondary school during 2012/2013 school year.
School costs breakdown
| Primary school costs | Average spend per child |
| School uniform (including shoes) | €190.60 |
| School books and stationery | €154.00 |
| Gym gear | €71.49 |
| School accessories (lunch boxes/school bags etc) | €70.70 |
| Total spend | €486.79 |
| Secondary school costs | Average spend per child |
| School uniform (including shoes) | €206.90 |
| School books and stationery | €250.50 |
| Gym gear | €85.83 |
| School accessories (lunch boxes/school bags etc) | €76.59 |
| Total spend | €619.82 |
Breakdown: how will back-to-school costs be met?
| How will back-to-school costs be met? | % of survey participants with school-going children |
| Will use regular income | 59% |
| Will put money aside | 27% |
| Apply for back-to-school allowance | 20 % |
| Dip into existing savings | 15% |
| Use credit card/overdraft | 5% |
| Will borrow from friends/family | 4% |
| Take out a personal loan | 2% |
| Borrow from a money lender | 1% |
| Other | 1% |
| Don’t know | 1% |
Attachments:
NCA back-to-school costs June2012
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