Irish pupils requested to take own toilet paper to school

Pupils in a County Cork school are being asked to bring their own toilet paper to school to help offset funding cutbacks.

The principal of St John's Girls National School in Carrigaline, Co. Cork, confirmed she had sent out a memo to parents last week requesting that their daughters occasionally bring a roll of toilet paper to give to the class teacher, who would dispense the rolls to students when needed.

The bizarre request is part of the school's cost-containment programme so that dwindling state funding can be better spent on education, says principal Catherine O'Neill. She refused to divulge the school's annual budget but said that the Government's abolition of various grants was behind the request.



The letter, dated October 1, reads: "Dear parent. From time to time we will request your daughter to bring in a toilet roll to her class teacher. These rolls will be specifically for your daughter's class and will be dispensed by the class teacher. We would also request that your daughter has tissues in her sack at all times. This is due to cutbacks. we are endeavouring to trim down expenses and ensure we use our grants towards the educational needs of your child."

She stressed that the request was just that, and pupils were not obliged to comply. "We thought with this request that it wouldn't be a burden on families. We're just hoping to spend money on education," she said. "We're all aware of cutbacks. We didn't mean to insult anyone. It's kind of humorous," she said, adding she didn't believe her school was the first to make such a request.

But a parent of one pupil said he was astonished when he got the letter last week. "Are things really this bad? This is like something Frank McCourt might have written about growing up in the 1930s," he said. "I was flabbergasted."