However, this drops to 13 percent for secondary school students.

In families where mothers have a third level degree, 72 percent of parents say they are very confident about assisting secondary school children with their homework.

The findings come from a study on parents involvement in their children's education from the CSO, as part of the Quarterly National Household Survey.

It also reveals that 93 percent of children aged 3 to 7 are being read to by their parents.

And 87 percent of parents want their children to remain in the education system to attend third level.