I’ve never understood the fuss around the cost of school uniforms – especially at primary level. A couple of shirts or polo tops from one of the chain stores would set you back €5. A pair of grey or navy slacks would cost between €15 and €20. A pinafore or uniform skirt wouldn’t cost much more. Tracksuits can be handed down. Indeed, I’ve a sister who is putting three children through primary school and each of them has worn the same tracksuit.

Fancy crested jumpers are expensive but I always found you could get three years out of them so they earned their keep. Tartan kilts also cost money but again there’s quality in them and you couldn’t wear them out. My sister reckons that shoes and runners aside, she can send her three back to school for not much more than €50 to €70 each and that’s for the year. If there was no uniform, she says the cost would be 10 times that. That’s especially so for teenagers, who want to be dressed like their peers.

It is a far cry from the uniform list my mother had when I started secondary school. Apart from shirts, jumpers and tartan skirts, there was a school blazer and a gabardine coat on the list. Woe betide you if you appeared in any other jacket. There was also a different uniform you had to wear if you were competing in school competitions, such as debating or choir.

While a distinctive uniform is nice, what parents really want are hard-wearing, machine washable and non-iron uniforms. Getting this agreed with the school management is a job for parent committees.

What I don’t agree with is Minister Richard Bruton linking the availability of generic school uniforms with the capitation grant schools receive from the State for their running costs. Schools need every cent of that grant and it can’t be put at risk over a crested jumper or two.

However, I’m with Minister Bruton when it comes to school books. The costs here are outrageous – as is the waste. Luckily in Limerick O’Mahony’s bookshop has a great secondhand books service. You sell them your well-kept used school books and join a waiting list for what’s coming in.

A couple of times I was lucky enough to get most of the books that we needed at between 30-70% of face value. There’s no excuse for schools – especially at primary level – not operating a school books scheme. At second level, each school should have at a minimum a stock of plays, poetry and novels that can be recycled. Again it’s a role that could usefully be managed by parents committees. Do let me know if you have a successful books scheme operating in your school.

Finally, well done to the Newcastlewest Business Association for getting fashion stylist Gok Wan into the town on Saturday. A crowd of over 300 mainly women from across Munster and beyond turned up for a styling event and fashion show that featured most of the shops and boutiques in the town. With discounts of up to €20%, it was a great early boost to business. I’m not one for going to fashion shows so I was impressed that the models were aged up to 63 with sizes up to 20. This was a show where there really was something for everyone in the audience.