The Real Price of Raising and Educating a Child in Ireland
When we ask most parents to estimate what school and college will cost over the years, they'll usually guess low. That's not carelessness. The costs sneak up bit by bit, a bit here for lunches, transport, uniforms, grinds, trips, accommodation and it's easy to lose track when it's spread out like that.
Zurich actually ran those numbers and they're worth a proper look.
Primary school: modest costs that add up fast
On average, primary school costs €1,794 a year per child, totalling €14,352 across the eight years. The same survey found parents estimating closer to €1,140 a year, undershooting reality by €654.
Most of it goes toward everyday essentials: lunches (€382), transport (€250), after-school activities (€232), and clothing (€221). None of these feels significant on its own but combined they explain why 27% of parents have had to borrow to cover primary school expenses.
Secondary school: nearly double the price tag
By secondary school, the annual figure climbs to €2,928, or €17,568 across five or six years, with grinds and tutoring alone making up €620 of it.
More than a third of parents, 36%, resort to a loan at this point, frequently while also managing a mortgage, career pressures and ageing parents.
College: where the cost triples
College brings the average annual cost to €14,451 or around €57,804 for a typical course. Accommodation alone can range from €7,000 to €9,000 a year and parents continue contributing roughly €2,457 annually even once their child has started.
Among parents with kids still in primary or secondary school, 78% hope they'll eventually go to college. For most households, this expense isn't hypothetical. It's a matter of timing, not likelihood.
A pattern worth noticing costs grow, warning shrinks
At every stage, parents underestimate the cost and that gap widens as children get older. The result: the biggest expense – college, arrives for the families who are least ready for it.
One bright spot in the data: 57% of parents put away their entire child benefit payment each month. It's a solid habit but the real question is what that money is actually doing over those 18 years, growing or simply sitting there while inflation quietly chips away at it.
Starting early beats starting late, but starting late still beats not starting
The families who handle these costs most comfortably aren't necessarily the highest earners. They're the ones who gave their savings the most time to grow. Here's what that looks like in real numbers. €140 a month from birth, invested over 18 years at an assumed 7% net annual growth rate, turns €30,100 of contributions into €48,944. Wait until secondary school starts, and catching up needs €490 a month for 6 years, €34,790 invested, and it only grows to €40,604. Starting earlier means putting in less and ending up with more. These figures are illustrative only, based on a 7% net growth assumption, not guaranteed, and the value of an investment can fall as well as rise.
If your child is already ten or already in secondary school, that's not a reason to skip the idea altogether. A plan with seven or eight years to run still does real work, just with a somewhat higher monthly amount than if you'd started at birth. The parents who end up under the most pressure usually aren't the ones who started late. They're the ones who never started because it felt like the window had already closed. It hasn't, whatever stage your child is at.
What an education savings plan looks like in practice
None of this needs to be complicated. Most plans follow a fairly simple structure: a regular monthly contribution, a target date (usually around when secondary school or college begins) and a strategy built to match that timeline. Contributions made eighteen years out can take on more growth potential, while money going in with only two or three years left needs a gentler approach, so a well-designed plan shifts gradually toward lower-risk options as the target date approaches, rather than staying fully exposed right up until the fees are due.
Most plans also let you adjust the monthly amount as your income shifts, pause contributions during a difficult stretch, and get reviewed every year or two to make sure things are still tracking well. The goal isn't landing on one perfect figure and locking it in for good. It's getting something started now, at whatever level makes sense today, and adjusting from there.
Whether you're a parent with young kids or a grandparent wanting to help out, now's a sensible time to sit down with the real numbers for your own family.
Talk to US!! We'll go through the figures together, figure out what's realistic given your income and timeline, and put together a savings plan that starts working immediately rather than playing catch-up later.
For a deeper dive, download our free Ultimate Guide to Education Costs and Planning in Ireland, or find out more about our Children's Education Funds.
Source: Zurich Ireland, education costs research 2026.