Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 347: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if there is a scheme of financial assistance available to low income parents and one parent families who have children attending secondary schools; if her Department allocates funds to the said school to operate such a scheme; and if not, the assistance that will be given to low income parents, who have to purchase expensive books, in order to enable their children to complete their education at leaving certificate level. [26919/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A grant scheme for schoolbooks for needy pupils in post-primary schools has operated since the introduction of the scheme for the provision of free post-primary education in the 1967/68 school year. The purpose of the scheme is to provide aid towards the cost of schoolbooks. A needy pupil, for the purpose of the scheme, is defined as a pupil from a family in which genuine hardship exists. Schools are notified of the scheme each year by Circular Letter. The scheme is administered by school principals. Principals have discretion in the selection of pupils to be assisted and the level of assistance in each case, subject to the annual financial allocation and the terms of the scheme.

The 2007 allocation is €7.941million. 128,000 pupils are being assisted under the scheme in the 2007/08 academic year. Of this, some €0.9m issued to support seed capital and book loan/rental schemes. Schools designated as disadvantaged received a higher rate of grant per needy pupil. In addition to this, as part of the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme, some €4.7m was issued in additional non pay supports to second level DEIS schools. The funds can be used flexibly by schools as part of their action plans to address the educational needs of pupils at risk, working in collaboration with parents and local community agencies.