Roughly one in 10 parents have to borrow money to cover school costs.
That's just one of the findings from a new Barnardos survey of the expenses facing the parents of primary and secondary school children.
In its survey of 1,400 parents, Barnardos found that roughly one in 10 have to borrow money to cover school costs, while almost a half do not pay bills in order to finance things like uniforms, books and footwear.
It also found that around seven in 10 parents continue to be asked for a voluntary contribution from schools, while three in four primary and nine in 10 secondary parents say they are still asked to buy branded uniforms.
Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly says there are significant costs associated with sending a child to school, and it's something the government needs to urgently look at:
Ms Connolly said: "So it costs €340 to send a senior infant child back to school, €380 for a fourth-class pupil and €735 for a first-year secondary school pupil.
"We are asking for the Government to make a key step in addressing the costs of education by investing 0.2%of the overall education budget to make free school books available to all primary school children."
Meanwhile, Wexford County Council is introducing a scheme to tackle the growing costs.
3,000 free back to school kits will be issued to students across the county next week, in order to assist those struggling financially.
The back to school kits are funded by the Department of Social Protection, European Commission and Wexford community groups.
Speaking to Beat, Chairperson of Wexford County Council Michael Sheehan, explains how it will help families who don't meet the criteria for the back to school allowance.
"What this programme does, it gives everyone a good start to the academic year."
"It takes the pressure off parents, so they don't have to spend all money on back-to-school, and makes sure they won't have to go to other areas to borrow money."
