Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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151. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to increase funding to the school book rental scheme as indicated in the action plan for education 2016 to 2019, in view of the fact that these schemes are not fully comprehensive and or available in all schools (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33662/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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School book rental schemes have an important role to play in reducing the cost of school books for parents.

Circa. 94% of primary schools and 65% of post-primary schools operate a book rental scheme.

My Department supports the operation of book rental schemes through the funding provided under its school books grant scheme. Under this scheme, my Department provides funding of €15 million annually to primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme.

A recent survey from Barnados indicates that it would require an additional investment of around €40 million per annum to provide all school children with free school books. This should not be taken to mean that this organisation does not see the value of school book rental schemes. It should be noted that the organisation's €40 million estimate is in addition to the Department's existing annual investment under the school books grant scheme.

All schools must be sensitive to the financial pressures on parents in making decisions, not just about books, but about any matter that has cost implications for parents.

The Action Plan for Education outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented over the 3 year period 2016 to 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 or eliminate school book costs 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.

Budget 2017 represents the start of a major programme of reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade.

It was not possible to provide additional funding in Budget 2017 in relation to this element of the Action Plan due to the many competing demands for the available funding. However, this commitment remains a priority for me to address as soon as possible during the lifetime of the Action Plan. It is important to note that the total allocation to this Department for additional policy measures, after demographics and Industrial Relations commitments, was €130 million and out of which all our commitments in higher and further education and primary and secondary schools had to be funded.