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Updated at midday
A DAY AFTER the Leaving Cert results were released and ahead of next week’s first round third-level offers, parents and students are weighing up the cost of going to college.
New research from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has now shown how parents are being forced to save more and, in most cases, go into debt.
The stats show that 59% of parents go into debt to cover college costs with €5,030 the average debt per child. The research shows that parents contribute an average of €453 per child per month, up on last year.
But where is this funding coming from?
Figures from ICLU the show that the number of parents who have got a credit union loan to cover costs has trebled over the last four years.
The above graph demonstrates that the number of parents who use savings to pay for third-level costs has remained relatively constant over the past four years.
Drilling down into the figures though, it’s clear that these savings are harder to come by. For example, the percentage of parents who’ve saved for college costs for 5-6 years has jumped from 12% to 20% since 2011.
In fact, the biggest proportion of parents who answered the survey say that they had been saving for their children’s colleges costs for more than 15 years.
Staying at home
The research also points out that the number of students living at home during their time in college has seen a noticeable spike in recent years. It’s now in the majority according to respondents to the ILCU.
In 2013, 44% of students were living at home with this jumping to 62% in 2015.
Speaking about the results of the survey, the ICLU’s Ed Farrell describes the cost of starting or returning to college as “phenomenal”.
“The increased registration fees combined with monthly rent and bills, books and materials and day to day expenses are a significant financial burden to many families, Farrell says.
Worryingly in this survey, 10% of parents will consider a moneylender to help cover the costs of their child or children’s college education, as always we would urge people to avoid this option.
When a child does go to college though, money worries continue to be an issue for parents.
In fact, parents’ concern for how their child will cope financially in college is their third greatest worry.
If that photo is evidence of ‘the grope’, it seems radically different context and circumstances to sexual assault.
Forcible kissing during a theatrical rehearsal also seems a stretch to be regarded as ‘sexual assault’.
Some of these accusations are doing a severe disservice to women who are victims of serious assault if we are now to associate any sort of physical contact with ‘sexual assault’.
@alphanautica: Forcible kissing in any situation is sexual assault. This is the problem women face with people handwaving away what happened.
@DaisyChainsaw: ‘sexual assault’ certainly is a very broad brush then. Where on the spectrum would you put forcible kissing on a scale of 1 to 100?
In civil law terms ‘assualt’ can be both placing your hand without force on someone’s shoulder to beating them aggressively over the head with a machete.
I get your point, though I do see a difference in terms of severity.
@the druid: did she?
@alphanautica: sexual assault is the non consensual sexual touching, kissing, groping by one person of another person.
The crucial dimension is consent.
@alphanautica: “Forcible kissing”, sounds pretty horrendous to me. How would you like some big ugly mutt coming and forcibly kissing you. Better still, try to imagine some thick ignorant man coming and groping your balls while you are asleep, taking a photo, and then everyone having a big laugh about it.
So, he kissed her during a comedy sketch and pretended to grab her breast. She feels disgusted and ashamed so pursues a career in swimsuit modelling and decides 11 years later on Twitter is the best time to tell all. It’s stuff like this that is diluting the seriousness of sexual assault.
@Dj: You’re a nasty piece of work.
The career she has pursued has no relevance to the sexual harassment she was subjected to and you’re in no position to lecture people on when they should talk about their experiences of mistreatment. It can be extremely difficult for people who have felt violated to recount their experiences, in no small part because of the insidious attitudes people like you hold but the right response is to listen when they do.
In her post she has said that the many, many victims of sexual assault and harassment who have shared their stories had a big impact on her deciding to share as I’m sure it has for many other victims. For people to open about something so personal takes a tremendous amount of bravery, and seeing others sharing their stories can give victims the strength to share.
And don’t pretend that you care about the ‘seriousness of sexual assault’ when you’re trying to pit one set of victims against another. It’s seriously pathetic.
I sincerely hope that your regressive mindset on this issue isn’t common across this country.
@Monty Wuggy: well and truly said.
I hope that I am correct in saying that the vast majority of men treat women decently but a small minority of men behave indecently and with real malice and in a predatory and disrespectful manner towards some women.
@Dj: your last sentence is correct.
wow another leftist male feminist who lectures the common people on women rights turns out to be a sicko, who would have guessed?
@cormacpaddies: thankfully no right wing reactionary conservatives male chauvinists would ever act in such a manner.
@cormacpaddies: She wants $$$
@cormacpaddies: If you defend Trump and go after Franken then stfu with your nonsense.
Can that airplane photo genuinely constitute groping these days!! Really? She’s wearing body armour plus he’s clearly making a joke.. is that part edited out on everyone else’s photo??
The kissing episode sounds ghastly so I can see why that would upset anyone and it’s proper he has apologised.
But not that photo.
It’s ok it is a Democrat.
@Philip Gerard: he boasted about consensual grabbing, big difference there even though you would love it to be the same.
It seems that Irish standards are such that some Irish males think that the photo and the depiction are okay and acceptable.
@Number 14: Hi Liam Flag.
@Fiona deFreyne: lens of time Tony- what you ? Early 60s?
i tried to kiss a girl in 1984 but thank God there was no internet. Wouldnt do it these days w/o a signed contract.
Hang on ,he’s a comedian ok.
He was only joking.
When Senator Al Franken was asked why he was using his superdelegate vote for Hillary “Jezebel” Clinton, even though Sanders won his State by 22%, he said that HIS judgement was more important than that of the people of Minnesota.
@Remy: ^^False horsecrap from one of ore resident fascist tw@s.
@Philip Gerard:
So Franken did cast his vote for Jezebel Clinton even though Sanders won the State. Thanks for confirming that you regressive Commie Goon, dry your eyes.
@Remy: you’re an awful clown..
So, he’s progressed from Saturday Night Live to the Democratic Party to groping unconscious women.
Interesting career.
@Dean Moriarity: I think it went SNL -> groping unsuspecting women -> politics
Now now Number 14. You are splitting hairs.
@Number 14: helpfully the photo is shown.
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&ei=cxEOWoT5I4zXwAKBroqoDA&sjs=3&q=leeann+tweeden&oq=&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.1.0.41l3.0.0.0.2743.1.0.0.1.1.0.0.0..0.0….0…1..64.mobile-gws-img..0.1.45.3…0.BKka967uzBE
Gimme a break
@Brianto: is that your way of saying she was asking for it?
@Karen Wellington: begging more like..
What suits her in one situation doesnt suit her in another… but at least you are here to muddy the waters karen
I have never seen so many accusations of sexual assult. All it is doing for me, is telling me to switch off and ignore same as attention seeking. Apologies to men and women who are sexually assulted with any seriousness (Actual sexual acts). This touching crap or felt uncomfortable is non sense. Its making touching another human being feel wrong at this stage. Shaking hands soon to be inappropriate.
Enough of the groping,stories of victims of gropers ,gropers apologies ,just hack their arms off .
Politicians, actors, the military, religious, the police and who else???
@Alois Irlmaier: people with money
I’d say she’s been living a life of hell ever since. NOT!
That joke was a bit lame but it’s still a joke and the new rules say you have to laugh hard and I’m a comedian on par with Gerry Seinfeld and Billy Connolly.
have your say