Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The introduction of the junior cycle schoolbook scheme is another historic moment in Irish education and helps us to live up to the promise of free education.

I want to thank the Senator for raising this Commencement matter and emphasise the significance of the funding for this ground-breaking scheme. I also want to acknowledge the enormous amount of work that has taken place since the scheme was announced in March to ensure that children and young people in junior cycle programmes in both mainstream post-primary in the free education scheme and in recognised special schools will have additional schoolbooks and classroom resources in place for the start of the year.

There are a number of other measures in place to support families in those back-to-school needs in terms of the back-to-school clothing and footwear scheme and the school meals programme. Certainly, it is not discriminatory at all and there are supports there for fee-paying schools.

This has been a transformative and ground-breaking scheme and certainly will help many thousands of families across the country.