A survey finds Dublin has the highest number of parents forced to deny children their back-to-school items.
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has revealed that over a third of Dublin parents admitted they will have to cut items such as new shoes or gym gear from the school budget.
Of this group, almost three quarters (74%) say they'll have to deny their children extracurricular activities, while 45% say new shoes will get the cut.
This compares with the national average of 31% of parents saying they'll have to deny their children certain school items.
More than two-thirds of Dublin parents admitted that back-to-school costs were a financial burden.
Source: ILCU
The study also showed that well over a third of parents in Dublin (37%) say they're getting into debt to cover back-to-school costs.
Some 42% say they're in debt of between €400 and €500, compared with 25% nationally.
Of those parents in debt, almost one-third (32%) say they've used a moneylender in an effort to cover the costs.
Half say they have borrowed between €400 and €500 - while three in ten borrowed between €100 and €200.
A significant 60% say they will use a moneylender again to cope with school costs.
