An annual survey carried out on back to school costs has found that the Connacht/Ulster region has the lowest amount of schools asking for "voluntary contributions".
A total of 62% of parents in the region said covering the cost of back to school is a financial burden and 22% of families in the area said they are getting into debt.
The national survey was commissioned by the Irish League of Credit Unions and involved 895 parents of school-going children.
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Paul Bailey from the ILCU says the Connacht/Ulster region had the lowest percentage of parents in the country that are asked for voluntary contributions by their child's school:
