Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Very much so. I acknowledge that tremendous work was done on the ground by schools to make it workable, as it were. The Department did provide specific and additional funding to schools to ensure they were recompensed, if you like, for taking charge of the roll-out of the book scheme and compensated for the time and work involved in it. It has been very positively endorsed by parents and by the schools themselves. Every day I acknowledge that the schools have done the work. We can certainly give a financial resource for it, but it will never compensate for the genuine interest schools have had and have shown to make this work. It has been positively received. We are reviewing it and any learnings we take from it will be used as we move on to junior cycle.