John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Minister of State. As he will be aware, despite the fact that the school holidays have only commenced, issues surrounding the back to school clothing and footwear scheme are arising already. This is a particularly stressful and arduous time for families and parents and many thousands of children benefit from the scheme annually. My concern is those families who, because of income thresholds, do not qualify for or benefit from this worthy scheme. I am speaking about working parents with two or three children of schoolgoing age who are faced on an annual basis with hefty costs in the purchase of school books. I have already been contacted by a number of parents who, while they understand they must pay for school books for their children, still cannot fathom why so many schools still do not operate the school book rental scheme. I understand the Department of Education and Skills, with the Minister, has been pioneering the scheme and that €15 million has been set aside this year for it.

What continues to baffle and astound me and parents is the reason textbooks change from one year to the next, such that siblings in second and third year cannot pass on school books to their younger brothers and sisters on entering first year. This is no longer acceptable. Despite repeated efforts to address this issue, it is still ongoing. There is no good reason school books, if properly maintained, cannot be passed between siblings in the secondary school system. Many working families will have to forgo many things this summer, including, perhaps, a holiday, in order to put money aside for school books, the cost of which can amount to hundreds of euro per child. The cost of school books for two or three children in secondary school and, perhaps, older children starting college is a heavy burden on families. I would welcome a response from the Minister of State on the efforts being made by the Department to alleviate this cost and improve access to the school book rental scheme. Will he indicate how many schools countrywide are operating the scheme, giving a county by county breakdown, and why particular schools are not availing of it when it is available to them?