Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. The next Commencement matter, in the name of Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, relates to the roll-out of the operation of free school books for primary school students. The Senator has four minutes to set out her case.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Before I welcome the Minister, I welcome people to the Public Gallery. I am particularly pleased to see Teresa Doolan, the former Superintendent of the Houses of the Oireachtas and a great friend of ours and of this House. I also welcome Laura Boyd and Joan Herbert from the Department of Justice and transition year students from Marino College, Larkin Community College and Mount Carmel Secondary School. Their visit to the House is very timely as the Minister gives her response to the Commencement Matter.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I join in the words of welcome. It is always positive to see students in particular visiting here to learn about what we do here. I am delighted that I happen to be in the Chamber when they are here today.

I acknowledge Senator O'Loughlin's particular interest in this scheme, which she has been very keen for us to advance for a long time. All of us who work in the education sector know of the benefit of a scheme of this nature. I acknowledge the Senator's consistent support for the measure and her consistent determination that we would deliver it.

She will be aware that my Department's statement of strategy sets out the vision and mission of my Department for an educational system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach his or her full potential. It sets as a goal to ensure equity of opportunity in education and to ensure that all pupils are supported to fulfil their potential.

Since June 2020 and over the past three budgets, I have secured funding to support measures aimed at achieving that goal. As part of budget 2023, I announced an allocation of more than €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from next September. This significant investment further reflects the Government's commitment to a quality and inclusive school system with improved learning outcomes for every pupil.

The Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many families.This free school books measure will eliminate the cost to these families for all school books at primary school, including workbooks. It delivers on the programme for Government commitment to extend the free school book pilot, which is currently in place in more than 100 DEIS primary schools, as resources permit.

The free primary school books scheme from next September will benefit more than 540,000 pupils in approximately 3,240 recognised primary schools, including pupils in more than 130 special schools.

The implementation of the measure will build on the existing school book rental scheme, which is available in some 96% of recognised primary schools and has been in place for a long number of years. Schools buy the school books directly from bookshops and suppliers at present as part of the implementation of the existing school book rental scheme. They will continue to be free to do so under this new scheme. I know that has been a particular concern for the Senator and many others. Schools will continue to have the autonomy to purchase from their existing providers - the local bookstore, publisher or whoever they purchase from. That determination will be made by the school. Should a school wish to continue the present arrangement, that will be permitted.

The Department is considering the information and experience from the schools involved in the free school book pilot for the past three years as we develop the programme for roll-out. The Department has been engaging with relevant stakeholders, including teacher unions, management bodies and representatives of school book publishers and booksellers, in order to inform and plan for the roll-out of the measure. As the Senator specifically referred to local shops and publishers, there has been engagement on a number of occasions with the Irish Educational Publishers’ Association, Bookselling Ireland and other organisations that have an interest in the matter, including Barnardos, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others. That engagement is continuing.

Detailed guidance for primary schools on the operation of the free school books measure is being developed. The guidance, together with the funding, will be provided to schools to support the purchase of the books and resources in time for the start of the 2023-24 school year. The schools will receive the funding and will do with it as they choose in respect of where and how they will purchase the books. It is recognised that the information to schools and so on will have to be available to schools after the Easter break.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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That is good news. This gesture – it is more than a gesture – is absolutely appreciated by school communities around the country. It is good news that the Minister has clarified that schools will be able to nominate their preferred provider. Most of the independent bookshops and shops already have arrangements in place with schools. There was a concern that they would be bypassed. I know the Minister understands the importance of supporting local businesses. It is important that this measure is a win-win for everybody and what the Minister outlined is a win-win. It is ground-breaking new provision, as she said, which will ease the back-to-school financial burden on families. I appreciate the work the Minister, her office and the Department have done.

I have one question. The Minister referred to the detailed guidance for primary schools on the operation. Does she have any idea when that will be in place to allow schools and book providers to put their own systems in place?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate my appreciation for the opportunity to outline what is, as the Senator said, a ground-breaking measure for our primary schools, but especially families who face specific and definite challenges when it comes to resourcing children for school. This €50 million investment is a positive, proactive measure to support families going forward. It also underpins our strong commitment in the Department of Education and throughout the Government to ensure that every child has the opportunity to maximise his or her potential and capacity. Supporting children by providing resources will be central to doing that.

As I outlined, schools will have the autonomy to decide from whom they will purchase the books. I have also outlined that there will be detailed guidance on that. I am confident that schools will need to have that information around the Easter break. The objective is to provide that information to the schools at that time, with funding to be made available thereafter for schools to make their own purchase arrangements.