Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply and I am glad that he will make arrangements to meet with school-book publishers. I have raised this question previously and the Minister said he would keep that request under consideration. I have received correspondence, as I presume other Members have, from a printing company in this country that lost a contract with a major school-book publisher. In that correspondence, which I presume the Minister has also received, the printing company said there was a huge mark-up for the school-book publishers. If the figures quoted in the letter are accurate - I have no particular expertise to know whether they are or not - it is a grim tale of how additional costs are imposed on purchasers of such books and the unwarranted profiteering involved. I hope the Minister will raise that issue with the school-book publishers when he meets them.

The Minister rightly pointed out that school principals also have a role to play in this regard. I urge principals and teachers to limit the need to purchase new editions as much as possible.

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