Some recent articles on the topic:
Why fees for Ireland’s most prestigious private schools are on the rise
Ireland is hostage to Rich Daddy Syndrome
Most of the 700 secondary schools in Ireland are technically "private", i.e. they are not owned by the state. While some are non-religious, most are owned by a church and run by a local school board. This is similar in structure to voluntary (public) hospitals like the Mater or St. Vincents.
Most post-primary schools became de facto public schools when they signed up to the free fees scheme back in the late 1960s, so they are almost fully funded by grants from the Dept of Education. They depend on donations or "voluntary contributions" from parents/communities for 5-10% of their costs.
Separate to these, there are approx. 50 fee-paying schools across the 4 provinces, with the majority in Dublin. These are what most people refer to as "private schools". Most are Catholic but many were set up to cater to smaller religious denominations, e.g. Stratford was originally Jewish.
Parents send their children to private school for various reasons: they may be alumni themselves, the school may be local to them (or far away if boarding!), the facilities may be nicer, there may be better/unique educational opportunities (e.g. St Kilians German School), they may offer specific religious education, networking opportunities etc. One of the most common stated reasons is to give students the best opportunity to progress to third level.
These schools now charge between €4,000 and €10,000 per child per annum. Boarding schools can charge up to €27,000(!) a year. These schools receive government funding, although since 2019 it has decreased. The schools claim that they are not just for the wealthy. They say they include low-income students on scholarships as well as middle-income students whose parents have saved/sacrificed to afford the fees.
In spite of the big charges, these schools rely heavily on government grants, averaging about €2.5 million per school per year, or around €4,700 per child. Dept of Education covers upto 50% of private school running costs. This is more than €1bn over the past decade.
Are private schools good value for parents? If getting into UCD or Trinity is the goal then it's actually not clear that they are worth it as many public schools get equal or better results. No doubt they are good for building networks though.
Are they good value for the state? The schools argue that if they lost funding they would have to close and the state would then need to create up to 27,000 public school places.
Why fees for Ireland’s most prestigious private schools are on the rise
Ireland is hostage to Rich Daddy Syndrome
Most of the 700 secondary schools in Ireland are technically "private", i.e. they are not owned by the state. While some are non-religious, most are owned by a church and run by a local school board. This is similar in structure to voluntary (public) hospitals like the Mater or St. Vincents.
Most post-primary schools became de facto public schools when they signed up to the free fees scheme back in the late 1960s, so they are almost fully funded by grants from the Dept of Education. They depend on donations or "voluntary contributions" from parents/communities for 5-10% of their costs.
Separate to these, there are approx. 50 fee-paying schools across the 4 provinces, with the majority in Dublin. These are what most people refer to as "private schools". Most are Catholic but many were set up to cater to smaller religious denominations, e.g. Stratford was originally Jewish.
Parents send their children to private school for various reasons: they may be alumni themselves, the school may be local to them (or far away if boarding!), the facilities may be nicer, there may be better/unique educational opportunities (e.g. St Kilians German School), they may offer specific religious education, networking opportunities etc. One of the most common stated reasons is to give students the best opportunity to progress to third level.
These schools now charge between €4,000 and €10,000 per child per annum. Boarding schools can charge up to €27,000(!) a year. These schools receive government funding, although since 2019 it has decreased. The schools claim that they are not just for the wealthy. They say they include low-income students on scholarships as well as middle-income students whose parents have saved/sacrificed to afford the fees.
In spite of the big charges, these schools rely heavily on government grants, averaging about €2.5 million per school per year, or around €4,700 per child. Dept of Education covers upto 50% of private school running costs. This is more than €1bn over the past decade.
Are private schools good value for parents? If getting into UCD or Trinity is the goal then it's actually not clear that they are worth it as many public schools get equal or better results. No doubt they are good for building networks though.
Are they good value for the state? The schools argue that if they lost funding they would have to close and the state would then need to create up to 27,000 public school places.