Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I very much appreciate that this Commencement matter has been selected and that the Minister is here in person to take it. As Fianna Fáil spokesperson for education in the Seanad, I am very proud of my party's record in education, particularly during the Minister's tenure. She has dealt with some very difficult issues and some of the themes she has addressed and some of the actions she has taken have been transformative, in particular the announcement in budget 2023 that free primary school books will be available for all children from September of this year. This is a fantastic measure and one I have lobbied for since I became a Deputy and probably even well before that. It will make a huge difference to families across Ireland. I hope it will be replicated at secondary level in the near future.

This is excellent news for all parents.We have some lovely schoolchildren here. I do not know which school they are from but they are very welcome. I know it is a great privilege for them to come in and see the Minister for Education.

Over the past few days, I have spoken to a number of suppliers regarding school books. We are talking about people with independent businesses who are at the heart of the villages and towns they represent. I spoke to Dermot Finnegan from Farrell & Nephew, which is a bookshop on the main street in Newbridge. It is a fabulous business where I buy my own books and gifts. I know how important the school book industry is to Mr. Finnegan, Maeve and Mary who work there. I also spoke to Natasha, a lady who owns a gift shop in Rathangan. Again, it is a place where boys and girls drop in after school and get their sweets and treats but she also runs a business involving school books and school uniforms. I know this is central to Natasha. It is wonderful to see small businesses like these in their own towns. I would be concerned that if they lost this business, it could be the death knell of their businesses. I acknowledge the Minister is strong on supporting local and supporting small communities and I hope she has news for us regarding the roll-out of free school books. It is essential that there is potential to still use these independent bookshops and that school books can be supplied through them.

I appreciate that the finer detail must be put in place regarding orders. Will it be through the school or the Department? Who is going to make the payments? Will it be directly through the Department? We want to ensure there are no delays to payments because these shop owners undertake a very big and worthy task on behalf of schools and the families and communities they serve. I would appreciate some clarity on that.