A Dublin-based charity has highlighted the struggle many families face when sending their children back to school.
Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) said it distributed school supplies over the past 10 days for children in both primary and secondary school to families living below the poverty line.
The charity received the packs through a FEAD European Grant that is in place with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
ICHH said a quarter of a million children are living in poverty in Ireland and the rising cost of education means many families are in desperate need of support.
"We were delighted to be able to provide the 300 back to school packs for families as their children return to school however it has further highlighted the financial pressures being placed on families," said ICHH CEO Anthony Flynn.
"Through our membership of the FEAD European Grant programme we were in a position to support these families but we were inundated with requests and could have easily distributed three times the amount.
"With so many children and adults living below the poverty line we need to properly address inequality as ICHH are supporting families with food parcels on a weekly basis as well as the back to school packs.
"In a country with a strong economy like ours we should not have so many people struggling to feed their children and get them back to school with the correct supplies," he added.
