The Society of St Vincent de Paul says it received almost 300 calls every day last week, from worried parents struggling with back-to-school costs.

The charity says many of the calls received related to requests for financial help with things like parental contributions, schoolbooks, and uniforms.

Marcella Stakem, research & policy officer at the Society of St Vincent de Paul, and Jen Hogan, parenting columnist with the Irish Times, join The Last Word to discuss. 

For the full chat press the play button on this page.