The Government has taken the first step towards providing free school books for children at primary level with a €1 million pilot project which will benefit more than 15,000 pupils.
Under this pilot project, more than 100 disadvantaged primary schools will receive additional funding to provide free school books from next September.
Minister for Education Joe McHugh said the move was a “statement of intent” and that he wants to expand the system further in future budgets.
“This is a statement of intent. I want to grow this. I want to build on it. It’s a start, it’s €1 million, and over 100-plus schools which have been identified will benefit,” he said.
Barnardos, the children’s charity, has estimated that it would cost about €20 million to provide free books for all children in primary school.
Mr McHugh said the new investment follows a commitment in Budget 2020 to introduce an extra support to reduce costs for families and school communities.
The funding builds on an existing €17 million book grant which is paid to primary schools to provide assistance for book rental schemes.
In the 100 participating schools, school-book funding per pupil will increase to €85.
Mr McHugh said he decided to focus the funding on Deis schools, in both urban and rural locations, which cater for high concentrations of students from disadvantaged areas.
Barnardos welcomed the move as the “first step” towards providing free primary school education for all pupils.
"While the funding falls far short of providing school books for all children, which would cost €20 million, we welcome the fact that children in Deis schools will be the first to benefit from this new initiative," said Suzanne Connolly, Barnardos chief executive.
“However, it is important to bear in mind that many children attending non-Deis schools may also experience disadvantage, therefore future allocations of funding must recognise this reality.”
Criticism
The move has drawn criticism from some Opposition parties, with Labour saying the additional funding does not go far enough.
The Labour spokesman on education, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, said: “The Government had an opportunity last October to make free books a reality for all schools, but instead went down the route of a pilot scheme to be rolled out next September.
“This last-minute announcement today, with talk of an election just around the corner, simply does not go far enough and will still leave hundreds of schools wanting – and without access to – free books.”
