Sinn Fein calls for an end of the school uniform monopoly

Cllr Anthony Kelly has said that the growing costs of school uniforms and the very real stress that this is causing among Irish families must be addressed now. The Wexford Councillor said that the Sinn Fein party as called upon the Minister for Education to do everything in his power to bring down the costs of these uniforms.

Cllr Kelly said;
“The cost of sending children to school is putting huge financial burden on thousands of families who are already suffering the effects of the recession. I have been contacted by several worried constituents in the past few weeks. They have all asked me where is the sense in allowing a small number of retailers to hold a monopoly on school jumpers which have the crests emblazoned on them. They ask how anyone can justify this practice which keeps prices so high. The truth is I can’t answer them because I can’t see any sense in it either.”

“This significant cost factor could be transformed overnight if each school provided students with crests for a small cost to be sown onto standard school jumpers. Sinn Féin has been calling for this for some time now, as have the children’s group Barnardos. New figures from Barnardos state that is now costs €350 to equip a child entering primary school rising to €805 for a child entering secondary. Our children’s education and future cannot be sacrificed to keep a cosy monopoly in place.”