Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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502. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the outstanding recommendations of the joint Oireachtas committee report on tackling school costs published in 2013 to be implemented by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26206/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department's approach to reducing school costs for parents is set out in the Action Plan for Education that has just been published.

This plan, which incorporates my Department's Strategy Statement as well as the Action Plan for Education outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented across 2016-2019. Some of the actions as part of the plan are to strengthen the focus on reducing school costs for parents by:

- Restoring capitation funding over a three-year period as resources permit.

- Increasing the financial support for book rental schemes, in order to reduce/eliminate school book costs for parents.

- Placing a requirement within a Parents and Learners Charter for Schools to take account of the views of their parental communities when making decisions on matters that have a financial impact for parents.

- Issuing a new circular to school authorities and ETBs regarding school uniform policy and other costs and the need to put a greater emphasis on reducing the cost of school uniforms and other costs.