Policy

Barnardos has long called for the introduction of free schoolbooks for all children as a first step in making education truly free within Ireland. Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said: “The announcement in last year’s budget to provide free schoolbooks to all primary school children in Ireland from this September and forever going forward was extremely welcome.

Barnardos children’s charity says the CSO Statistics Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) findings on deprivation are unacceptable. The findings state that one in five children (19.9%) experienced deprivation last year in Ireland and that just under one in six (15.2%) found themselves at risk of poverty. This means that almost one quarter of