Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not name companies. One particular company provides books in physics for leaving certificate students at €17.95 while other competitors charge €36.99. It caters for the same curriculum and covers more or less the same issues. It is used in some schools, in a small percentage of the market, and is an excellent book. Similarly in the maths area, books cost €15.50 versus €29.50. For construction studies, books costs from €19.95 versus €37.95. Geography books cost €19.95 versus €34.95. These are significant price differentials.

There is a need to communicate this information to schools and if there is a fear among schools that new entrants to the market may not be up to standard or, perhaps because of a lack of familiarity, teachers are reluctant to go for new books, we should consider introducing a standard, a quality mark, from the Department of Education and Skills to textbooks that meet certain standards. That would be a sensible way forward. We have standards in restaurants, accommodation and various food items. That would help teachers make decisions when choosing textbooks that are up to standard. As far as I am aware there are no textbooks on the market that are not up to standard. They are all up to standard but there are substantial price differences. New entrants find it hard to get into the market because they do not have the same reputation.

We need to look at this. I raised this issue with the Minister previously and was referred to the guidelines in regard to how to operate schoolbook rental schemes. There is not enough emphasis in the guidelines on encouraging teachers and those choosing textbooks to shop around for better value for money. A potential 50% saving could be made in certain subject areas for schools and parents. In some cases, the cost of buying the book from the alternative source is only slightly more than what it would cost through the book rental scheme. This gives food for thought.

What is the view of the Department on how we could encourage better competition and on how to encourage teachers and those choosing textbooks to shop around and go for better value books? A concern I have is that when a school enters a scheme, it is locked into that scheme for a number of years. This is a barrier to emerging companies that are offering better value for money. What is the view of the witnesses on that?