PARENTS have eased off on what they spend to celebrate their child's Holy Communion.
And
although they are still shelling out around €1,000 to celebrate their
children's Communions, this figure is down from €1,165 in the past two
years, a fall of 17pc.
The spending on communions comes to almost €60m when it is all added up across the economy, the survey from Ulster Bank shows.
The survey shows that mums and dads are spending €213 on average on children's outfits for the big day.
And proud parents of Catholic children spend €382 on food and drink for a party to mark the ceremony.
Four out of 10 parents hire a bouncy castle, with one in five employing a professional photographer.
Despite
the decline in spending, parents have still been criticised by the
Catholic Church and charities for shelling out too much on the big day.
The
splurge on communions has been condemned by St Vincent de Paul, which
said that spending €1,000 on a celebration for a nine-year-old was not
justified.
There are signs that some of the madness has gone out
of communion celebrations -- spending on make-up, fake tan and hair
dressing has dived by 25pc to just under €40.
Before the recession
hit it was not unusual for parents to hire limousines and bouncy
castles, and splash out on expensive dresses, suits, make-up and spray
tans.
John Monaghan, national vice-president of St Vincent de Paul
(SV de P), said parents would be spending huge sums because they did
not want their child to stand out from others.
"Our recommendation is to put a little sanity back into it, we need some sense," he said.
"It was never right. It was never justified. It
is taking away from the sacrament and focusing on the showbusiness.
There are a lot of families who cannot afford to do this," Prof Monaghan
said.
The nine and 10-year-olds making their communion are raking
in €468 in cash gifts from relations and friends. Half of the money
they get ends up being spent.
Aunts and uncles are most generous, giving about a third of all money received.
Bonanza
But
the cash bonanza has eased with the recession.
The amount of cash the
children collect is now down almost a fifth, from €574 in the past two
years.
The study of 1,000 people carried out in the past few weeks
by Millward Brown Lansdowne for Ulster Bank found children in Dublin
earned most, with €533.
First communicants in Munster got €519.
Those in Ulster and Connacht were least well-off, getting €369.
Ulster
Bank said that almost 60,000 children were making their communion this
year.
This meant nine and 10-year-olds had €28m to spend and saved
€13.3m.
SV de P staff in the 13 regions the agency works in have been in
contact with Catholic bishops raising concerns over the cost of the
day.
Prof Monaghan warned that the charity's advisers were
discovering families in arrears on energy bills because the cash they
had was being used to pay back moneylenders months after Communion day.
The
agency urged the church and schools to consider asking parents to allow
children to wear a white robe or smock for the service, as is common on
the Continent.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church said focusing
on money and gifts rather than the spiritual side of a sacrament was not
good preparation.
"Bishops and priests are very concerned about
the cost issue facing parents with children for First Holy Communion and
Confirmation and have discussed this matter in parishes."
The spokesman urged parishes to provide locally organised and modest celebrations.