Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I am taking this Topical Issue Debate matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I thank Deputy Kirk for raising the matter and welcome the opportunity to clarify the position on it.

The Minister is conscious that the cost of textbooks is a considerable burden on families. Textbooks are an important way in which students can be supported in their learning and the Minister knows the range and quality of textbooks has increased in recent years.

Since becoming Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn has attempted to take steps to reduce the burden on families. Shortly after coming into office, he met members of the Irish Educational Publishers' Association and impressed on them the need to limit the cost of textbooks. He also stressed to them the real need to avoid placing schools and families in a position where textbooks are altered unnecessarily.

The association responded positively to the Minister's approaches and agreed a voluntary code of practice among its members. The code commits the publishers to limit the publication of new editions and to maintaining editions of books in print unchanged for at least six years. The publishers have also given assurances that they will sell textbooks to schools at substantial discounts in order that schools can purchase textbooks in bulk to stock textbook rental schemes.

All these developments are welcome, and the Minister looks forward to seeing the members of the association implement these commitments. My Department has not received any complaint that would suggest that the code is not being implemented, but if the Deputy has evidence to show the code is being breached, I would ask him to provide me with it and I will take it up directly with the Irish Education Publishers' Association.

Recently published research by my Department shows that there is a high level of book rental schemes in operation at primary school level. The research indicates that 76% of primary schools operate a book rental scheme and I encourage this practice across all schools in the education landscape. Results at second level are not as conclusive. Since his appointment, the Minister, Deputy Quinn, has also engaged with the National Parents Council, at both primary and post-primary levels, and with other organisations such as Barnardos and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to ensure textbook costs to students and their families are kept to a minimum.

I refer the Deputy to the report on textbook rental schemes in schools and the allocation of textbook grants by the Department of Education and Skills, and the draft guidelines on developing school textbook rental schemes which the Minister published on 28 May last. These documents will help to inform the debate on the issue. Following receipt of the opinions of the representatives of teachers, principals, school management, parents, students and others on the policy options outlined in the report, the Minister hopes to make a decision by the end of the summer so that if there are any changes to the book grant scheme, schools will have a year's advance notice.

On the final point raised by Deputy Kirk on the availability of the textbooks on digital tablets in schools, significant work is ongoing in certain schools in furthering that particular aim. There are also discussions ongoing between publishers and the Department. Indeed, publishers are also having their own discussions and negotiations with tablet suppliers and others as to how that could be rolled out throughout the country. A significant amount of the movement on this must come from the publishers and the tablet suppliers, but the Department would be anxious to facilitate that process in any way it can.

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