Mr. Matt Ryan:

The Department welcomes this opportunity to discuss the issues of school book rental schemes. I will outline the Department's perspective on this issue and any actions it is taking regarding same.

The Department encourages all schools to operate school book rental schemes. In the budget last October it was announced that the Department is to receive €5 million from the proceeds of the national lottery licence transaction to allow primary schools to invest in book rental schemes. Further investment is to take place over the next three years to support the establishment of book rental schemes in all primary schools that do not currently operate them. Since then, the Department contacted primary schools that did not operate book rental schemes to advise them of the seed capital funding being made available. Just over 530 schools that had previously indicated in their annual returns that they did not have book loan schemes were invited to apply for funding. Of these, approximately three quarters have applied. DEIS schools will receive €150 per child and non-DEIS schools will receive €100 per child in seed capital funding over the next two years to establish book rental schemes. This will cost approximately €6.7 million and will benefit more than 63,000 pupils and their families.

The balance of the funding, some €8.3 million, will be divided among all other primary schools that currently operate book rental schemes. DEIS schools will receive an additional €8 per pupil in 2015 and €12 per pupil in 2016, while non-DEIS schools will receive €7 per pupil in 2015 and €11 per pupil in 2016. This is in addition to the annual book grant that is issued to all primary schools and second level schools in the free education scheme.

Since 2011, the Department has gathered information from primary schools as to whether they operate book rental schemes. Returns for September 2013 indicate that 84% of primary schools operate a book rental scheme. This compares to 83% in 2012 and 77% in 2011. The position at second level is that for September 2013, some 68% of schools reported that they operate book rental schemes. A more detailed analysis of the returns show that 55% of voluntary secondary schools, 66% of community and comprehensive schools and 88% of schools operated by education and training boards are operating book rental schemes. Responses to a survey conducted in 2012 were disappointing and the survey does not lend itself to comparisons with the returns received in respect of 2013. The Department will continue to request information on book rental schemes from first and second level schools annually.