Laois-Offaly Social Democrats push for affordable education for all

The Laois-Offaly Branch of the Social Democrats are pushing a motion passed at the party’s national conference this summer calling for 'An Affordable and Technological Education for All.'

Back-to-school costs can be up to €1,500 per child with 29% of parents getting into debt to pay back-to-school costs, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The branch said the motion was “based on the core principle that education should be affordable and accessible to all,” and that an effort should be made at the national level to ensure the access to technology in education is equal. Local initiatives, such as the 'Laptops for Schools' programme run by Social Democrats Councillor David Quinn in Dun Laoghaire having been working at community level to address this shortfall.

Calling on the Government to follow the examples of such projects, the conference agreed that the Department of Education could be responsible for bulk buying equipment and licences for appropriate books and software to reduce costs on parents.

The decision reflected the theme of the party’s national conference which was 'Doing Things Differently.' During the conference, Gary Gannon TD, the party’s spokesperson on education, explained this means a future “where every child can reach their full potential and no child is left behind.”

The conference, the first in-person since 2019, was also a recognition of the advances the party has made since its establishment in 2015, tripling its Dáil seat count in the last election. The Social Democrats propose making primary and secondary education free. This measure would cost just €230 million per annum, 2% of the overall education budget.

The Laois-Offaly branch is represented by Councillor Clare Claffey who is the only woman, sitting alongside 18 men, on Offaly County Council. Clare is known locally in the Birr area for her work on the new Primary Care Centre and other community engagement activities. The branch is returning to community activities and underline tackling derelict and vacant properties as a policy priority for their constituency work.