Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I believe it is crucial that all children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms and I know that I am supported by the Government in this belief. Since June 2020, and over the past three budgets, I have secured funding to support measures aimed at achieving that goal. One of the most important policies in this regard has been the establishment of Ireland’s first free primary schoolbook scheme, which has been fully funded to provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks in primary schools and special schools. In excess of 558,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including more than 130 special schools, will benefit from this measure. This is a landmark moment in Irish education and one which furthers our goal to provide education for all and ensure that every child can benefit from free education.

I know that getting young people back to school in September can be a struggle. The free schoolbooks scheme will eliminate the cost to families for schoolbooks at primary school, including workbooks and copybooks. In excess of €53 million has been issued to schools around the country and extensive guidance has issued to schools on the operation of the scheme. As the Deputy said, schools have received €96 per pupil, which is based on pupil enrolment figures. The cost of €96 per pupil was arrived at following extensive analysis of a range of data sources. This included analysis of over three years of data from schools involved in the pilot free books scheme, direct engagement with a sample of different types and sizes of schools and detailed analysis by the Department of a range of school book lists, as well as engagement with other previous external independent surveys. The implementation of the measure builds on the experience of schoolbook rental schemes currently in place for a number of years in some 96% of primary schools, and on the learning from the free schoolbooks pilot provided for the past three school years in more than 100 DEIS primary schools.

Primary schools and special schools will continue to have the autonomy to choose books that meet their curricular requirements. The scheme will seek to ensure that value for money is achieved and that primary schools and special schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that best meets the learning outcomes for pupils.

The Department engaged with all relevant stakeholders as to how the scheme will operate, including primary school management bodies, unions, the National Parents Council Primary, representatives of booksellers, schoolbook publishers, IBEC, Retail Ireland, the Small Firms Association, Barnardos and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. It also engaged with a number of schools directly, including some of the primary schools participating in the pilot DEIS free book scheme.

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