Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The free primary school book scheme benefits up to 558,000 pupils in approximately 3,200 recognised primary schools, including pupils in 130 special schools. I cannot even imagine the number of books and copybooks that is but it is a very considerable amount of paper and a considerable opportunity for wastage. Certainly in my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire, schools are very assiduous at highlighting green issues, recycling and adopting a whole-school approach to that. If I were a school principal I would be adopting an approach on how we manage that collectively as a school and how we set our own targets for recycling and the reuse of books over time.

Senator O'Reilly's idea on the transparency regarding the return on the usage of the books is a very good one. Why should we not have a measure of that transparency? It is being set against the natural tension that exists in the way our school system is structured, which leaves a lot of autonomy to the individual schools under the boards of management. That remains but there is no reason there could not be a voluntary return of some kind, and I will certainly bring that idea back to the Minister. It is really important and timely for the Senator to have raised it.