Vol. 399 No. 8
44 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Education her views on whether the allocation of £7 per necessitous pupil in primary schools under the free book scheme is adequate, considering that the average cost of school books is £23 per pupil.
In each of the last two years I have increased the rate of grant payable under the scheme of assistance with book costs for necessitous pupils. In 1989 a total of £982,000 was provided, an increase of over 16 per cent on the previous year's provision. In 1990, the provision for the scheme is £1,163,000 which is a further 18.4 per cent increase. These two increases taken together have allowed the per capita grant to be increased by 40 per cent in two years.
This year's allocation will enable the grant to be paid at the rate of £8.40 per pupil. However, I do appreciate that the grant does not meet the full cost of pupils' books and I will continue to improve the amount payable as financial resources allow.
