Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates. On the book rental scheme, it is clear from the discussion that the term is too broad and should have been narrowed. The Department will have to acknowledge that asking schools if they had a book rental scheme in place as part of a box-ticking exercise did not provide enough detail. Some schools would only have rental schemes for the core books in Irish, English and mathematics, while others would have a scheme covering the full array of books. It would be remiss of the Department not to acknowledge this in dealing with the issue.

I ask the officials from the Department to explain why there was such a variation in the surveys and the actual returns from schools. What has the Department learned from the differentials that have emerged? I ask the INTO to confirm that the Department did not make any effort to engage with it in advance. Does the Department acknowledge that this was a mistake in hindsight? There should have been better learning before this scheme was launched. What should have been a positive news story for schools, regrettably, turned into the opposite because of lack of engagement with stakeholders. I ask the Department to comment on this because it was not referred to in its presentation.

I refer to the role of the boards of management of schools in this issue. Some schools have very good boards of management, while others have very weak boards. I ask the Department and the INTO for their views on this issue. Are boards of management taking responsibility for book rental schemes, ensuring they represent good value for money and are sustainable? Such schemes must be operated in a business-like fashion. Schools cannot buy books every year and cannot be careless about it; they must use funds productively. Sustainability is also an issue. Boards of management have an important role to play and need to step up to the mark. Is this being done? Are they being encouraged and provided with guidance by the Department and the INTO?

On the issue of sustainability, I thank Friends of the Earth for its interest in these matters and its efforts to ensure the issue is kept to the fore. The delegates are correct in their assertion that sustainability does not receive the attention it deserves. I particularly like the slogan, "cuts that don't hurt". It is one we could all use in the next general election and I would like to claim it for my party.