Parents forking out an extra €500 to avail of digital devices

AS KIDS return to school, some parents in Ballyfermot are forking out an extra €500 per child to ensure that they can avail of digital devices needed.

Parents at a school in Ballyfermot are being asked to pay €513 to provide their children with digital devices that are intended to be used throughout the school year – under a 36-month payment plan this figure rises to €658.97.

Dublin South West TD Paul Murphy has stated that the situation in some local schools “makes a joke of the notion of free education” and stated that he is also aware of cases within his own constituency.

Deputy Murphy said: “It really makes a joke of the notion of free education. You obviously have the expansion of the free book scheme – that’s really welcome, it makes all the sense in the world that parents shouldn’t have to fork out huge amounts of money every single year.

“But then that progress is immediately undone and more by schools making iPads or other devices compulsory and not providing them.”

He urged for devices to be provided to pupils free of charge at schools where these additional charges are being placed on parents. In 2026, primary school parents expect to spend a total of €1,607 across the school year, while secondary school parents are spending €2,142, per the Irish League of Credit Unions’ annual Back to School survey.

Deputy Murphy stated that the costs of digital devices in the classroom is working to create “a digital divide”, which has put some children at risk of falling behind other classmates due to the money needed to keep up.

The local politician called on the Government to ensure that iPads necessary for education do not come at the expense of parents paying more than €1.5k to put their kids through the year.

“These electronic devices, the iPads, are a big additional expense that many parents can’t afford, which then creates a situation of a digital divide in the classroom where it’s obvious if everyone’s been told they need to get it, some parents simply can’t afford to get it, and then those kids are highlighted, isolated, and are left behind in terms of learning.

“I think we simply cannot stand for this until the government needs to send a clear message to schools that if you’re going to make any electronic device compulsory, well, then you need to find a way to provide this.

“You cannot be expecting parents to fork out money from their own pockets for the device.”