Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, he has had a busy evening. I am here to echo previous calls from many quarters, including Children’s Books Ireland, for the reinstatement of the school library grant. This was a grant of €2.2 million which was cut over a decade ago. This is an important issue. Cultivating the skill of reading in our young people we must all encourage. We speak repeatedly about literacy levels amongst disadvantaged students and minorities and in the modern world we speak about digital literacy.

Part of me laments that with our focus on technology and fast-paced society we have neglected the fundamental skill of reading and it being a pleasurable pastime for students.

When I was young I can remember many teachers I was lucky to have who encouraged the avid reader in me. My preference was for medieval and modern history and I subsequently became a history teacher. Getting people reading at a very young age, ingraining that love for reading in them, not only helps in moulding them as people but also provides an escape for them. Critically, international studies have found a significant link between reading for enjoyment and educational achievement. An OECD report from 2002 found evidence that reading for pleasure has a greater impact on a child's success than the family's socio-economic status and could be an important way to help combat social exclusion and raise educational standards.

I understand the limitations in what the Minister of State can say this evening about this matter, which would have budgetary implications, albeit relatively minor in nature. The reinstatement of this programme would cost approximately €2.2 million or €4.52 per school student. The reality is the lack of funding is quite apparent. Most schools I have taught in as a teacher had no library or one that was run entirely with the goodwill of teaching staff and was dependent on donations of second-hand books or money to buy books.

A survey of school libraries a decade ago indicated the majority of schools, or 53%, did not have a library and did not intend to buy books from the school's capitation grant or its own resources. Unfortunately, with many schools, large sums of money are diverted into keeping the place clean, bums on seats and the show on the road. The luxury of books is not foremost in the mind of school management.

I listen to Ryan Tubridy's radio show most mornings on the way here to the convention centre or Leinster House, and to be fair to him, he is a great advocate for reading. He regularly raises it on his radio show and we all watch the toy show slot every year with wonderful kids who clearly enjoy reading. As part of his bedtime routine, my two-year-old son looks forward to reading through a few books before sleep instead of playing with toys or anything else. He refuses to go to sleep until he has had two or three books read to him.

At nine, children with more books at home or on loan from a library are 30% more likely to read than children from lower income and lone parent families that typically have less access to books. Schools and the role they play in educating, socialising and moulding our young people are the one area where all are equal and can have access to books. The reinstatement of this grant should be considered as reading should not be a pastime for the few. Reading should be for everyone and literacy should not be taken for granted. It should be funded adequately and encouraged in every household, school corridor and classroom.

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