Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

One of those extra allocations of money will have to be for a school book scheme. A lot of conversation is happening around the digital divide and the quest to get iPads and laptops into students' hands. What has happened over the past couple of months is that schools have given out books to students and a lot of those books will not be coming back. We need to look at how we can get some of those books back into schools, which will require investment.

My final point is one I mentioned last week. I want to be constructive in my engagement with the Department. There is a real opportunity for everyone in this Chamber to work towards a common goal in terms of education. A Government probably will not be formed, if it is formed, until closer to July. A lot is happening quickly and I suggest that we should have some form of an education committee where we can get people around a table, probably on a weekly basis, to discuss these issues and help each other out. There is a space for that and a rare opportunity to work on a shared goal across the divide. It is something on which we can do a little bit better, although the Minister and his staff have been very accommodating when we ring them up and ask questions.

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