Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

152. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns from local businesses regarding the free schoolbooks and stationery scheme (details supplied); the way her Department plans to mitigate the intense low margins faced by SMEs, the reduced footfall in retail premises, and the loss of seasonal jobs; additionally, if her Department will consider allowing schools more flexibility to prioritise local suppliers; the steps that are being taken to streamline the procurement process to reduce logistical challenges in schools; if she will consider encouraging schools to spend locally, or provide a one-time payment to families given the broader negative impact on local economies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37171/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As you are aware in early March, I announced details of a new scheme which provides free schoolbooks to Junior Cycle students in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. More than 213,000 students enrolled in approximately 670 post-primary schools and over 65 special schools, will benefit from the new scheme in the current school year. The investment of €68 million in 2024 significantly increases the funding that is currently provided for schoolbooks and introduces a free schoolbooks scheme to Junior Cycle years in all post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme.

My Department published guidance documents for schools around the operation of the each of schoolbooks schemes, in continued engagement with key stakeholders.

Officials in the Department met with Bookselling Ireland who represent booksellers in Ireland and is run by a committee of booksellers, chaired by Dawn Behan, and backed by the Booksellers Association. The Booksellers Association is a membership organisation for all booksellers in the UK & Ireland, representing over 95% of bookshops. The Department will continue to engage with Bookselling Ireland, as part of the on-going evaluation of the scheme.

The published guidance contains information that highlights the importance of schools engaging with bookshops and booksellers proactively to ensure a smooth implementation of the new arrangements. It draws attention to the role that the Office of Government Procurement plays in promoting schemes to facilitate Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) participation in Public Procurement and includes direct reference to DPER Circular 05/2023 that refers to initiatives to assist SMEs in Public Procurement. It also outlines the schemes which schools may consider as part of their procurement process.

Officials in the Department also proactively engaged with counterparts in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the types of supports available to book sellers to ensure that they have access to training and information on the Office of Government Procurement eTenders system so that they are in a position to respond to tenders requests as and when they wish to do so.

It is important to note that schools, like other organisations that receive public sector funding, have obligations that stem from both EU and national public procurement rules when sourcing goods and services. Schools must follow public procurement guidelines detailed in Appendix 4 of the guidance.

The guidance does not place any additional responsibilities upon schools that are not already in legislation. The Department of Education does not advise schools to engage or employ any specific supplier but rather provides the supports to schools to ensure that they meet their procurement obligations by applying a competitive process when sourcing goods.

In response to concerns expressed by schools and in consultation with key procurement partners, my Department developed Procurement Guidance for schools at both primary and post-primary level. This was in addition to a suite of supplementary supports including templates to assist schools to provide information to bookshops when seeking a quotation. The procurement guidance and template documents are available on the School's Procurement Unit website at www.spu.ie/schoolbooks-scheme/.

My Department has currently began a review of the first year of the Junior Cycle Schoolbooks Scheme in conjunction with the Department of Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform. As part of the on-going evaluation of the scheme, all schools will be asked to provide data on their expenditure and the work involved in administering the scheme in order to inform the guidance, implementation, costs and efficiency of the scheme for future years. This review will also look at a variety of key areas including the experience of suppliers and booksellers and will give all key stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback on the scheme.

To further support the implementation of the schemes, my Department is currently leading on the development of a Dynamic Purchasing System which will support both schools and booksellers in the procurement process for 2025/26.

A dynamic purchasing system (DPS) is an electronic method of procurement used for the supply of goods and/or services. It is different from traditional procurement routes as it operates an ‘open market’ for suppliers to join either constantly or very frequently. It is expected that this system will be in place for the 2025/2026 scheme.

In July the Education Procurement Service, on behalf of my Department, published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) notifying the market it intends to establish a national arrangement to assist post-primary voluntary, community and comprehensive schools in the procurement process relating to the delivery of the schoolbooks scheme. It is expected that the competitive process, pursuant to the PIN, will be advertised in the coming weeks.