Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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150. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of restoring the primary school library fund at a rate of €10 per primary school child; and the additional estimated cost of expanding such a scheme to second-level schools at a rate of €10 per secondary school child. [25406/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Currently the Department’s preliminary data for schools under the Free Education Scheme 2022-2023 indicates there are 558,133 learners in recognised primary and special schools and 406,457 students in post-primary schools. If there was an allocation of €10 per child that would be in the region of €10,000,000 per annum.

As the Deputy is aware, once off funding of €20 million was made available in May 2022 to enable all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme to improve their existing literacy resource banks. Support is being provided so as to ensure that schools can make best use of the grant funding within their schools. In this regard the Department is working with the Public Library Service.

Webinars and the Public Library Resource Guide for Schools provides information for primary and post-primary schools to develop and expand reading and literacy collections within the school setting (www.librariesireland.ie/services/right-to-read/services-to-schools ). The Public Library Supports for Schools are jointly agreed by the Department of Education and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

A teacher’s card is made available to every teacher in every school, which enables each teacher to borrow items for his/her class.As no doubt the Deputy is aware, library membership is completely free of charge for everyone in every library in the country. Further information on the services to schools can be found at www.librariesireland.ie/services/right-to-read/services-to-schools. Libraries Ireland also offer a Digital Library Service, and currently anyone with a library card can access the eBooks, Audio books and eLearning Resources.

The Library Service is also in the process of developing a successor strategy to “Our Public Libraries 2022: Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities” and the Department has agreed with the Library Service to further enhance cooperation so as to increase school usages of the resources that are available through the public libraries.

The Department has issued grants in 2023 for free schoolbooks for all children and young people enrolled in all recognised primary schools, including special schools. Where any surplus funding remains after all other schoolbooks, workbooks, copybooks and related classroom resources costs have been met, a school has the discretion to purchase library books, audio books and other material to increase the literacy(in English, Irish or other languages) and numeracy resources for their school.

I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.