Almost 90 percent of parents had to cut or curtail their spending to pay the voluntary school fee.
A new report from St Vincent de Paul found the average payment per child is €140, with some schools charging up to €550, reports Breaking News.
Out of 1,500 respondents, more than three-quarters said it was not made clear that payments were discretionary.
SVP’s Niamh Dalziel said the government should intervene.
Ms Dalziel told Newstalk: “We want to see new regulations on voluntary and any other parents contributions. We want to see an increase in the capitation grant to ensure that schools can meet their running costs. We want to remove all financial barriers to participation for all pupils. We want to see poverty-proofing of all school policies across the education system,” reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.