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45 per cent of parents have made no provision for their children’s education

Over two thirds of parents believe they will have to borrow their children’s third level education.

MORE THAN TWO thirds of parents believe they will have to borrow to fund their children’s third level education - yet 45 per cent have made no provision for such costs, according to research published today.

The research published by Bank of Ireland Life, in association with online parent resource Schooldays.ie, found that almost 50 per cent of respondents were not aware of the actual cost of third level education, but over half believed it would cost in the region of €6,873 per year.

Of the families who experienced financial difficulty, 56 per cent said sought financial assistance from family while 23 per cent sought financial assistance from the government to fund education.

“Seventy-five per cent of parents believe that the best time to start saving for their children’s education is when their child is between 0-4 years old. However of those parents, 52 per cent started when their child was between 5-11 years old and almost a quarter of them are doing so with the children’s allowance,” said Damian Smith, Head of Investments at Bank of Ireland Life.

The research found that almost two thirds of parents surveyed were earning less over the past three years, and that approximately one family in five had suffered a job loss. Despite this, almost 70 per cent of families have made no change to the amount of pocket money they give their children in the last year while just over 12 per cent increased the allowance per child.

Pocket money for secondary school children ranged from €2 to €60 per week, while secondary school students that were engaged on employment of some kind earned an average of €19.42 per week. Meanwhile, pocket money for third level students ranged from €10 to €120 per week, while third level students that work were shown to earn an average of €43.50 per week.

Nearly half of parents surveyed said they have maintained the same spend for extra-curricular activities and 38 per cent of them have invested more in this type of activities than in the previous year before.

Some 63 per cent of the parents of primary school children spend between €100 and €500 on extra curricular activities per child each year, while almost one third of parents are spending over €500 per child on extra curricular activities per year.

When looking for savings in household finances, over 46 per cent of the families do so through a reduced spend on childcare.

Meanwhile, a further 36 per cent of parents would be prepared to pay for private secondary school education to improve exam results.

Read: CAO offers – the main points>

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44 Comments
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    Mute Fergal O' Reilly
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    Dec 10th 2020, 1:14 AM

    That a 500 year leasehold was signed with a private developer in 1997, says a lot about the sad state of public planning in the city.

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    Mute Niamh Hand
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    Dec 10th 2020, 12:21 AM

    That’s a good news story to go to bed with. Good on Lord iveagh

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    Mute steve white
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    Dec 10th 2020, 12:38 AM

    @Niamh Hand: where was he the last 20 years?

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    Mute Fergal O' Reilly
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    Dec 10th 2020, 1:11 AM

    @steve white: 20 years ago a still recent lease agreement was in effect, so he was as powerless to intervene as the rest of us.

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    Mute FlopFlipU
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    Dec 10th 2020, 5:09 AM

    @steve white: dope

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    Mute Chris O'Sullivan
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    Dec 10th 2020, 9:47 AM

    @steve white: drinking pints I’d assume

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    Mute the-baldie-lad
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    Dec 10th 2020, 12:25 AM

    Hands up if you agree that Alan Kelly is an eejit

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    Mute Mary Nugent
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    Dec 10th 2020, 1:25 AM

    @the-baldie-lad: utd fan out in the open was it Leo on the luas

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    Mute Shane McGrath
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    Dec 10th 2020, 12:22 AM

    Excellent news.

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    Mute DJ François
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    Dec 10th 2020, 10:36 AM

    Be nice to have something along the lines of the English market in Cork

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    Mute muirhill121
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    Dec 10th 2020, 7:49 AM

    Hopefully, he won’t grant another lease to DCC so they can balls it up again!

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    Mute Shay Flynn
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    Dec 10th 2020, 11:00 AM

    My dad had a butchers shop there for years.

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    Mute Colm Molloy
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    Dec 10th 2020, 11:38 AM

    A market like the ones in Barcelona would be the job there..

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    Mute D Cullen
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    Dec 10th 2020, 8:36 AM

    Should be sequestered by the state along with all lands and properties that were divided amongst the lords of the English elite!

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    Mute Nick Caffrey
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    Dec 10th 2020, 9:15 AM

    @D Cullen: That’d be great if the state were capable of managing the lands and properties. Read the article and you will understand that the State is not up to the job.

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    Mute El Sparko
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    Dec 10th 2020, 9:20 AM

    @D Cullen: so the state can then sell it on the ruthless developers and give themselves pay raises??
    No thank, at least Lord Iveagh will do something that benefits the people of Dublin, like he has done many times in the past.

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    Mute Paul
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    Dec 10th 2020, 9:46 AM

    @D Cullen: except the Guinness’s are Anglo-Irish not English, just like many of Ireland’s rebel leaders of the past, Pearse / Wolfe Tone etc. The first Lord Iveagh was born is Dublin and is known for providing housing for the poor etc.

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    Mute The world outside the M50
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    Dec 10th 2020, 11:06 AM

    His Christian/First name is very odd, don’t you think – ‘Lord’ ??

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