Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the use of workbooks in primary school and the high cost associated with purchasing numerous revised additions. [15258/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department published Circular 0032/2017 - Measures to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs - in April 2017. One of the measures under the “Principles of cost-effective practice” which are to be adopted is that school authorities, ‘phase out the use of workbooks which cannot be reused’.  My officials have engaged with the Irish Education Publishers’ Association (IEPA) to consider how best to ensure the provisions of the circular can best be implemented.  It is acknowledged that use of workbooks can be beneficial in supporting the development of rudimentary skills, such as, fine motor skills, pre-writing and letter formation skills and phonological awareness skills.

In relation to revised editions of textbooks, members of the Irish Educational Publishers’ Association subscribe to a Code of Practice which includes an agreement that publishers will not revise any texts within at least four years - unless there is a change in the curriculum, the state examination or methods of assessment, or if there is a recognised teacher-led demand to do so.