Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

As the Deputy will be aware, I am keen to examine if there are ways to encourage schools to establish or maintain book rental schemes, using funding from the book grant scheme. I believe this to be one of the most effective ways of lowering the burden of the cost of school books. I have invited the national parents councils at primary and post-primary levels to provide me with examples of good practice of book rental schemes. Drawing on the experiences and perspectives of both schools and parents, I intend to issue general advice to schools on the operation of book rental schemes. I anticipate that the guidelines for schools will set down some underlying principles, address practical issues for schools and parents and provide examples of good practice in the operation of book rental schemes.

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