Primary School Children Forced To Get Summer Jobs To Cover School Costs

TO COMBAT the rising cost of a free education in Ireland, the Nation’s parents have come together to insist that primary school children spend their summer in employment.

A survey carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions has revealed that many parents will find themselves in debt trying to cover the costs of school supplies for their children.

With the cost of items such as books and school uniforms rising every year alongside the compulsory voluntary contributions, Irish parents have reluctantly sent their 4-12 year olds out to work.

“Daddy says he doesn’t have the moneys for the uniforms so I have to do this,” 4-year-old Thomas Quinn told WWN at his new place of employment Hanley’s Service Station.

“Ah Thomas has been a God send, he’s a whiz at the car wash, he can get in to all the hard to reach places,” John Hanley, proprietor of Hanley’s Service Station revealed to WWN.

Free education is a vital cornerstone of Irish society with many parents saying they do not take it for granted.

“I’ve three kids under 12 and we’d be lost without the schools, but the costs now associated with free education are tough. My youngest, Amy did her back in on the building site last week, all she wanted was to raise a bit of money for the 72 field trips she’s going on next year,” concerned mother Averil O’Conner told WWN.

Concerns surrounding having primary school children in the modern workplace are to be addressed by the Government through their new Primary Jobs work scheme.