Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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345. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the free schoolbooks scheme, including details of how schools and suppliers can access the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9688/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As part of Budget 2023, I announced over €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from September 2023. This 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, currently in over 100 DEIS primary schools, as resources permit. The free primary schoolbooks scheme will benefit up to 540,000 pupils in approximately 3,240 recognised primary schools, including over 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 on the free school books pilot provided to over one hundred primary DEIS schools in recent years. Schools currently buy books directly from school book suppliers as part of the implementation of the school book rental scheme. It is currently planned on the basis that funds will be provided directly to schools to purchase school books and related classroom resources.

My 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. This engagement had already commenced at the end of 2022 and is continuing over the coming weeks.

Guidance for primary schools on the free schoolbooks measure is being developed. The scheme will seek to ensure that value for money is achieved, and that schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that has the best learning outcomes for pupils. Schools will continue to have autonomy to choose books that meet curricular requirements. 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. It is recognised that this work will have to commence in schools after the Easter break.