Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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342. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if schools can request a monetary contribution per child from parents toward the cost of providing the free primary schoolbooks scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22967/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Education I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. This Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.

Earlier this year I announced the establishment of Ireland’s first national primary school book scheme. More than 558,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools, will benefit from this new measure.

At a minimum the scheme will provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for all children and young people in recognised primary schools and special schools and will eliminate the cost of school schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for parents of children and young people enrolled in these schools. Parents should not be asked to purchase, or to make a contribution to the school towards the cost of, schoolbooks, workbooks or copybooks.

Thereafter the grant should be used to eliminate costs of related classroom resources such as pens, pencils and erasers. Any surplus grant can be used to purchase shared books, audio books and other material to increase the literacy (in English, Irish or other languages) and numeracy resources in a school. Alternatively the surplus can be carried forward to the next school year. Schools should consider the need to replace or purchase new books in the following year when deciding how to use any surplus grant in the current year.

Schools are expected to adopt a cost-conscious approach to the selection of books for use in their classes. Primary schools and special schools will continue to have autonomy to choose books that meet their curricular requirements. The scheme will seek to ensure that value for money is achieved and that primary schools and special schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that has the best learning outcomes for pupils.

My Department has requested schools to communicate with parents and guardians in relation to any related classroom resources that are not covered by the schoolbook grant, clearly outlining the additional amount sought and what it covers.