I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Domestic Violence
I also welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Office of the Cathaoirleach for choosing this matter.
I am sure the Minister of State will agree that domestic violence is a scourge on society. I wish we did not have to raise these matters and I hope that, at a future date, it will not be an issue that needs to be raised, first, because it is not happening and, second, because there is no issue with funding for domestic violence organisations and refuges across the country. However, at present, unfortunately, there is a need for domestic violence services in this State.
Domestic Violence Response Galway was founded in 1988 as a registered charity. Like any of these organisations, it gets some core funding and is very appreciative of the core funding it receives from Tusla, but it is always looking for additional funding and it has a donation page on its website to seek additional support. We know that Domestic Violence Response Galway supports women and children in Galway city and county impacted by domestic abuse. These include young women who have grown up in abusive homes, the student in her mid-20s stalked by her ex-boyfriend, the woman in her early 60s who has spent decades with an abusive partner and the young mother who is trying to separate safely from her violent and controlling partner. These women are seen every day in the service in Moycullen, Galway, which is next to my home office. Those women who are in immediate danger are urged to contact the Garda at 999 and there is also 24-hour telephone support available from Women's Aid on 1800-341900.
The demand for services has increased exponentially over the years. Between 2021 and 2022, demand increased by 20% and demand for court advocacy services has increased by 50%, so the service must now plan for further expansion to meet the needs. There is an increasing demand for advocacy in the courts because, through legislative changes and through women knowing their rights, they are seeking the assistance of the courts and advocacy is usually important in all of this.
Part of the role of Domestic Violence Response Galway is to get the word out there to women who are impacted that there is a service, there is assistance, there is help, there is support and there is advocacy for them and on their behalf. As I said, thankfully, there has been a huge increase in the number of women who know of the services and who use the courts system, but this means the advocacy service is really stretched. Additional funding is required. As I said, Domestic Violence Response Galway receives core funding from Tusla and, during Covid, the HSE would have given targeted, once-off funding. However, because of the increase in demand for the services, there is a need for increased funding.
We would all agree that Domestic Violence Response Galway does tremendously important work. It is a service that is vital and needed, and it has an important impact on the lives of women who are being abused. As I said, this concerns not just young women but women of all ages, and the children of those women as well. I hope that given the level of the surplus we have at the moment, the Government can assist Domestic Violence Response Galway in its request.
I thank Senator Kyne for raising this very important matter around the domestic violence response in Galway. I know the Senator has been raising this issue consistently with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. I am aware that Domestic Violence Response Galway provides ongoing specialist support to victims of domestic abuse and has been delivering advocacy services since 2000 in Galway city and county. I acknowledge the work it does to support victims who are generally a vulnerable cohort and who require additional supports to navigate the criminal justice system. The supports provided include advocacy accompaniment and preparation for court, including the criminal and family law courts. It also provides specific and targeted supports for women and children, such as emotional support using a trauma-informed response and on-site assistance in its office.
As the Senator is aware, the Government will establish a statutory agency with a dedicated focus on domestic sexual and gender-based violence. This agency will have a specific mandate to drive the implementation of Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue.
Pending the establishment of the agency, responsibility for domestic violence services continues to be managed by Tusla. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has raised the question of funding with Tusla. Tusla understands, from recent engagement with Domestic Violence Response Galway, that it had a funding arrangement with the HSE that was designated as non-recurring and was due to end in quarter 1 of 2023. Earlier this year, Tusla allocated additional funding of €44,045 to support Domestic Violence Response Galway services, increasing its core funding to €181,527 in 2023. Tusla is happy to engage further with domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services on service developments beyond the current funding year. Tusla will give due consideration to any business case it receives from organisations regarding further service development.
Separately, I am advised that Domestic Violence Response Galway is one of two groups that applied for funding for full-time court accompaniment workers for County Galway under the Department of Justice’s victims of crime funding.
Officials met with the two groups recently and asked that they might agree first how they would provide a cohesive service without unnecessary overlaps in the county and then come back to the Department. I understand that both groups expressed an openness to doing that and the Department is waiting for the response.
The Department of Justice has pledged €22,050 under the victims of crime funding scheme to Domestic Violence Response Galway this year and some 18% of that funding has been drawn down to date.
I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response from the Department. I welcome the news that there is engagement in the Department with Domestic Violence Response Galway and other services around the country. I also welcome the news that Tusla is happy to engage with Domestic Violence Response Galway regarding funding. I certainly hope that in advance of budget negotiations, there can be an increased level of funding provided in 2024 and possibly additional funding for 2023 as well because, as I said, Domestic Violence Response Galway provides an important and vital service. Unfortunately, there is an increasing need for its services. We wish that was not the case but that is the way things are. We certainly need to ensure that victims of domestic violence get all the support and advocacy they need. To do that, they need groups such as Domestic Violence Response Galway.
I again thank the Senator for raising this important matter and for his engagement with the Department and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on this issue. I acknowledge the excellent work being undertaken by Domestic Violence Response Galway, which is appreciated.
As the Senator will be aware, and in line with a key recommendation of the audit of responsibility for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, the Government has agreed to establish a dedicated statutory agency that will be charged with co-ordinating the Government's response to this important area. The establishment of this new agency is a priority action for delivery under the third national strategy and will be operational by early next year. The new agency will be tasked with ensuring the delivery of excellent service to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, and with driving and co-ordinating the implementation of the third national strategy across the Government. It will bring the dedicated and expert focus that is needed to tackle this serious and complex issue.
Legislative Programme
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the House for what is a particularly interesting Commencement matter. It relates to a Private Members' Bill that I tabled in the House and about which we had an extensive debate. The legislation in question was the Registration of Wills Bill 2021 and the debate took place on 6 October 2021. Before I go into the central plank of what we were trying to achieve, I will say that the relevant Minister, Deputy Humphreys, came to the House and committed on the record - I have read the transcript - that she would actively engage with all parties and stakeholders to get some sort of resolution.
Efforts have been to made introduce this Bill, or various shades or types of it, on four occasions without any great success. Many commitments were given but nothing happened. What happened at that time was that the Government tabled an amendment to defer the Second Reading of the legislation for nine months later. That time limit has well and truly gone. In fact, a period of two years has passed between that debate in 2021 and today. We had a vote, which I am looking at now, and nothing has happened since. One could argue that it was open to me to re-enter the legislation. The Bill is now back on the Order Paper because that nine-month period has elapsed.
I will go into the essence of the Bill again. I want to work in the spirit of co-operation because the Minister identified a number of shortcomings. Everyone is familiar with the film The Field and the legitimate expectation and excitement of inheriting or holding what one's family has worked for. I am thinking in particular of rural agricultural communities and rural farms. I acknowledge the great work Teagasc has done through a number of webinars on succession for farms, particularly family farms. It was one of the best and most oversubscribed webinars Teagasc has ever run, which was interesting in itself.
This is an issue of importance because it is about inheritance. It is about passing on from one generation to another. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government and, more importantly, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am aware this is a recurring theme. Everywhere I go around the 31 local authorities, including to marts and agricultural fairs, I meet people who tell me of their concern around litigation in respect of inheritance.
What are we trying to do? We are trying to get a register. The Bill seeks to have a register of wills. Most countries have registers of wills. It struck me today that we have registers for births, deaths, marriages, cattle and dogs. We also have a television register and licence and are also soon to have a register for farm fertilisers. Despite all those registers, we do not have a register of where wills are held. They are clearly confidential documents. Much of the litigation and dispute is around succession and the right to ascertain a will or to find out that wills have been destroyed because they did not favour one person over another. The area is contentious and there is a need for a register.
I acknowledge the enormous work done by former Senator Leyden. He drove this issue for many years but is no longer here. I undertook to take on the issue, having spoken with him extensively. There is an issue here, particularly with regard to agricultural holdings and land. There are issues with regard to all wills. We need a central register of wills. Can we work together to put in place a register of wills similar to that in many other jurisdictions across Europe?
I am pleased to take this Commencement matter on behalf of my senior colleague in the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys. Currently, there is no requirement to register wills with any State authority. The Private Members' Bill was the fourth attempt to introduce legislation that would allow for the voluntary registration of wills. The argument is being made that significant problems arise for families where there is a belief that a will exists but that it has been misplaced or lost.
When this matter was previously before the House, a timed amendment was agreed to allow for further examination of the proposals. On foot of this, a working group was established, comprising officials from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Justice, the Courts Service and the Probate Office. The working group prepared a consultation document with submissions received from the Law Society of Ireland, the Bar of Ireland probate committee and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, STEP, Ireland. All of the submissions received raised serious observations about the proposed legislation. The Law Society of Ireland stated its strong view that there was no need for the establishment of such a register. It drew on the evidence that a tiny number of grants of representation, probate and administration intestate are revoked because a will is found after the grant of administration or probate issues. The society considered that the Bill would be detrimental to encouraging more people to make a will, would act as a barrier to the making and amending of wills, and would add to costs. It stated the Bill was contrary to public policy to encourage more people to make a will. Fears were also outlined by the society of the effect a register might have on vulnerable clients who could come under pressure to produce proof of registration to bad-faith actors, where currently they can simply refer their question to their solicitor and rely on solicitor-client confidentiality.
The Probate Bar Association of Ireland concluded that while there could be some practical benefits, these were outweighed by the lack of a need. Its members were unaware of any ongoing issues or difficulties that required the establishment of a register. The association observed that there did not appear to be benefits which were proportionate to the likely additional costs or administration that might be incurred. It was also concerned that a register would dissuade people from making a will.
STEP Ireland expressed general opposition to the enactment of the Bill and stated that a register of wills would act as an additional layer of compliance and bureaucracy in the making of wills. It would add to the costs for clients and disincentivise the making and updating of wills.
The report of the working group noted that making a will where property interests were involved was good public policy and supported by the Government. The working group noted there was little evidence of lost wills, that no public policy objectives would be achieved by establishing a form of registration and that an intervention of this nature could work to dilute the aim of encouraging the making of wills.
The negative impact of a registration process on vulnerable people either making wills or engaging in a process of registration where knowledge of their actions might expose them to exploitation was clearly expressed in submissions and needs to be considered.
Notwithstanding that, a form of registration or pre-validation process may support the work of the Probate Office to some limited degree, the working group concluded that the case for establishing a register was not well-grounded on either public policy or practical grounds. However, officials from the General Register Office are happy to engage further with the Senator on the matter.
There is a lot in that. I do not have a copy of the Minister of State's script, so I would need to go away and consider it. However, it falls a bit short. I had to raise the Bill in the form of a Commencement matter in order to even get that response. I sought to engage, and I have a list of letters and correspondence from the Department. There was to be a meeting. It was cancelled and there was no engagement or follow-up in respect of a series of emails. We are where we are. As a result of tabling a Commencement matter, we have discovered a decision that clearly sets it up that the working group has not made a recommendation but the Government governs. It is not the Law Society of Ireland, the Bar of Ireland or the legal profession, rather, it is the Government that implements laws. This Parliament deals with legislation. I want to give notice that I intend to progress the Bill to the next Stage. It is on the Order Paper, so we will get a date as soon as possible and have a debate on it here in the House. The transcript of the Second Stage debate shows that many Senators were committed to the principle. I thank the Minister of State. If he could make available a copy of the response he read into the record to every Member of this House, I would be grateful. Copies should have been provided. It is difficult to talk about a response when you do not have it in front of you.
I apologise for not having a copy of my response available.
That is not the Minister of State's fault.
From the recommendations made by the working group, based on the submissions made by key stakeholders, it is clear that the introduction of the form of registration of wills would be counterproductive and would create more difficulties for individuals than it would seek to resolve. The Bar of Ireland has pointed out that data from the Probate Office indicated that as few as 100 out of 15,000 wills processed involved missing wills and that in almost every case, the experience was that the High Court would admit proof of a will where a copy was produced. The Bar of Ireland's submission concluded that it is only in a tiny minority of the 100 or so missing wills that it would not be possible to obtain a grant of probate for want of evidence. While I appreciate the positive intention behind the draft legislation, it is considered that on balance, any benefits are far outweighed by the potential disadvantages and it is felt that the Bill, in its current form, should not proceed.
Grant Payments
I welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter.
We are here again to discuss the ongoing issues with housing aid and housing adaptation grants, and the report that is due into the review of same. Not a day goes by that I do not get calls or queries from the good people of Kildare and Laois in respect of these grants. The problems have not gone away since I raised this matter last November. It is safe to say the problem has increased for many public representatives dealing with these grants. Most importantly, the problem has also increased for those seeking to use these grants to improve their lives. The last time I raised this with the Minister of State he informed me that he was also having problems in his office with these grants.
To put it on the record again, these grants can, have and will make a difference to the lives of those who apply and who have applied and who are successful. As the Minister of State will be aware, the grant makes a significant difference to the quality of life of so many older people and to those with medical issues who need assistance. Unfortunately, many applicants grants are on hold because of the rising building costs and the cost of materials. The maximum payout of €30,000 on the housing adaptation grant does not nearly cover the cost of adapting a house for a bathroom, where quotes are coming in at around €40,000 to €50,000. Nor does it cover the cost of an extra downstairs bedroom, where some of the quotes I have seen are up to €60,000 and more. We continue to see rising building costs and these rising costs rule many families out of availing of these grants as the maximum payment continues to be €30,000, as I have said. The reality for those applying is that the work will not be completed and their loved ones will remain without what could be life-changing extensions that would improve greatly their quality of life and that of their families. Many others have turned to their credit unions where they could, with others trying desperately to access money from relatives and friends.
The limit for the housing aid grant is €8,000 and the reality of this worthwhile grant is that more and more applicants are applying for window replacements, roofs and heating, and they are finding that the figure is nowhere near enough to cover the quotes they receive. Prices for work in this area are closer to €12,000 rather than the €8,000 that the grant may offer. These issues are having a knock-on effect. In some of the cases I have dealt with, the applicants must remain in hospital because the family simply cannot afford the cost of the works done to their home. In some other cases, the applicants must come home and convert an unsuitable downstairs room into a temporary bedroom and toilet.
I want to put on record, as I have done previously, my thanks to the excellent local authority staff dealing with these grants. They continue to be inundated with queries from worried applicants, fearing they will not get the work done on their homes. We need to provide additional resources to the local authorities to cover the administration of these grants. Most importantly, we need to change the criteria so these works can be completed. When I raised this important issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage in April, he acknowledged that he had the report and that the Department was working on it. Upon further questioning, he confirmed that he would have an update in a couple of months. A couple of months later we are here and I hope the Minister of State brings some good news for the sake of so many and that an updated grant, which I have no doubt will change the lives of so many, will be forthcoming from the Government.
Before I call on the Minister of State I would like to welcome the pupils of Carrabane National School in Galway. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day in the Seanad. We are currently taking Commencement matters. Senators submit various topics for debate and four are chosen. The relevant Minister or Minister of State comes in and responds. The Senator raising the matter has a four-minute slot in which to do so. In this case, it is Senator Wall. The Senator has set out his issue. The Minister of State will now have four minutes for his response. After that, there will be two one-minute slots for the Senator and the Minister of State, respectively. Commencement matters are taken every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We are in the process of a dealing with these matters, hence there are not too many people here. However, the Oireachtas is a busy place. There is a great deal of activity and many committee meetings are ongoing in different rooms within the Houses. Our guests are welcome. I hope they enjoy their day.
I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on this matter. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. These grants are available to people with an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual disability, or to older people who experience mobility issues or require essential repairs to their homes so that they can continue to live independently at home.
The grants are 80% funded by the Department, together with a 20% matching contribution from the resources of the relevant local authority. The schemes are means-tested and operate on a sliding scale, with the highest percentage grants available to those with the lowest incomes and vice versa. The detailed administration of these schemes, including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment between the three schemes is the responsibility of local authorities. In 2022, almost €86 million in funding was made available to facilitate the payment of over 12,000 grants. Local authorities were recently informed of their 2023 allocations, with each local authority receiving an increase on the 2022 allocation, continuing the year-on-year increases since 2014.
Housing for All contains a commitment to the effect that a review of the range of housing grants available to assist with meeting specific housing needs both for our aging population and people with a disability will be undertaken. A report on the review of the housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability has been prepared by the Department for the consideration of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. Among the areas which the review considered are the income thresholds and the grant limits. The review was informed by engagement with external stakeholders, such as the Department of Health, the HSE, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Written submissions were also invited and considered as part of this process. The Minister is acutely aware of the importance of the review work, particularly given that it is almost ten years since these important grant schemes have been given this detailed consideration back in 2014. On foot of the careful consideration of the review report, the Minister has asked Department officials to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on the recommendations in the review report.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I want to put on record my thanks to the Government for the increase in the grant. The Minister of State indicated that the grants have increased year on year since 2014, which is welcome for all the people I deal with on a daily basis. However, again today we are not hearing what is happening. I have people who are living in their sitting rooms and using commodes. They cannot access proper facilities for themselves and their quality of life is being affected.
It is simply not good enough that we are saying again, although it was promised a couple of months ago, that we do not have word on the review. It seems to be going from one Department to another. I know it is not the Minister of State's Department but I plead with him today to bring this back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and to ask him to quickly publish this report for the sake of so many people I am dealing with. It is not just me; I am sure the Acting Chairperson and local representatives throughout the country are coming across this situation day in, day out, where people are not getting the quality of life these grants should be providing, and have provided in the past, simply because building costs have risen so much. I ask the Minister of State to bring that back to the Minister. I thank him for agreeing to discuss this matter this morning.
I have listened very carefully to the points made by the Senator. The funding available for these grants in 2023 has been increased by almost €2 million on the original 2022 provision bringing it to a total of €83 million. Given the real benefits of these schemes to people who rely on them to continue living their lives independently in their own homes, our objective is to continue to provide further increases in funding every year as part of the Estimates process. Further increases will be in line with commitments made under the Housing for All plan and on foot of the engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on the recommendations on the review report.
I will clarify something I learned when I got the initial answer. It is also possible for local authorities to apply for additional funding during the course of the year, and some local authorities have done that. That is a piece of information that may be useful. However, I will certainly bring the points made by the Senator back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.
School Textbooks
I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. The reason I am raising this in the House is as a result of a conversation with a long-time friend of mine, Tom Muckian, from Dundalk who has been an independent bookseller in the town for more than two decades. He brought up three issues with the free books scheme from a bookseller's point of view. I am raising those three issues in the Seanad today, along with three potential solutions as to what the Government could do to make it that bit easier.
The first issue Tom brought to my attention was that not enough money was earmarked for the scheme in the first place. The figure used was a figure from Barnardos, which was about €96 per student. However, booksellers and schools have said that figure needs to be around €120 to €130 per pupil. That would guarantee that there would be no need for a contribution from parents towards a school, however voluntary a contribution it might be.
The second issue was that there was no clear instruction from the Department of Education to schools about how this scheme should be run. Some schools already have a book rental scheme and, naturally, they are in a much better position to take advantage of the scheme that has been introduced. Whereas schools that previously had no book rental scheme, or a limited service, are finding themselves short of funds and they are unclear as to whether they are setting up a book rental scheme or if they are simply buying books for students that are then passed on the following year. The fact is that we do not know if this grant will keep coming year after year. I would really appreciate it if the Department could provide a greater clarity as to what schools need to do in the next two to three years.
The third issue is relevant to shops, and we are talking about independent bookshops here. At present, money is being given to the schools which approach suppliers for tender submissions. That is leading to a race to the bottom and in many cases shops are being asked to bear the brunt of the financial shortfall when tendering. It also places a disproportionate emphasis on price alone. No consideration is given to the sustainability of or the existing good service provided by local shops. For example, if a school in Dundalk has to go through a tender process and a place in Dublin, Cork, or Donegal offers bottom price, it is difficult to have to send the money there rather than to the local bookshop around the corner. That type of understanding of locality must be taken into account. I understand the tender process; I get that it has to be best value for money but it is unfair that we would be shipping money out of small towns where there are good local bookshops.
The three issues with the scheme are: first, it would be helpful if we increased the amount per pupil; second, it is about giving clarity to schools; and third, the tendering process should be cognisant of local shops.
The three solutions we might implement are as follows: I would take the advice of the schools and the publishers on the amount per student. The schools and the publishers are saying it is should be €120 to €130, so we should really look at that. We should give clear instructions as to the future of the scheme and how it should be implemented. As I said, that clarity would be really helpful. It would also be good to have some instruction that sustainability be a key part of the procurement process. It does not make any sense for a larger operator, who offers bottom price, to squeeze smaller or medium bookshops out of the market.
I have raised three issues with the scheme. They need to be teased out to make it an excellent scheme. However, these are three examples from independent booksellers who are dealing with this day in, day out. We need to try to fix this in order to have a really great scheme.
I thank the Senator. He will be aware that the Department of Education's statement of strategy sets out the vision and mission of the Department for an educational system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured in reaching their full potential. It sets as a goal to ensure equity of opportunity in education and that all pupils are supported to fulfil their potential. Since June 2020, and over the past three budgets, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, has secured funding to support measures aimed at achieving that goal. As part of budget 2023, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced more than €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from September 2023. This significant investment further reflects the Government's commitment to equality, an inclusive school system, and to improving learning outcomes for every pupil. The 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. This free school books scheme will eliminate the cost to these families for all school books, work books, and copy books at primary school. It delivers on the programme for Government commitment to extend the free school book pilot which ran in more than 100 DEIS primary schools over the past three years. The free primary school books scheme will benefit up to 558,000 pupils in approximately 3,230 recognised primary schools, including pupils in more than 130 special schools.
On 22 March, the Minister announced the details of the scheme and a comprehensive guidance to support schools in the implementation of the scheme was published and has issued to all primary and special schools. The implementation of the scheme will build on the existing school book rental scheme which is available in 96% of recognised primary schools and has been in place for many years. Schools are familiar with buying books directly from school book suppliers as part of the operation of the existing school book rental schemes and schools will continue to have autonomy to chose books that meet curricular requirements. I am aware the Department engaged with the various stakeholders as part of the development of the scheme. This included the primary education management bodies and unions, the National Parents Council, the Irish Educational Publishers' Association, Bookselling Ireland, Retail Ireland - IBEC, the Small Firms Association, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and Barnardos. The Department also engaged with a number of schools which have experience of running book rental schemes, including some of the schools participating in the DEIS pilot free-book scheme to learn of their first-hand experience of operating a book rental scheme. This scheme is supported by Government funding of more than €53 million which has been issued to all primary and special schools to purchase all school books, work books, and copy books for their pupils in time for the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
The funding was paid at a rate of €96 per pupil in line with the validated enrolment figures for September 2022. The free books scheme will seek to ensure value for money is achieved and that schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that has the best learning outcomes for pupils. In recognition of the work required in schools associated with implementing the scheme, the Department has also put in place a grant payment for schools for administrative support. This grant, which is based on enrolment, can be used to employ an individual to work for a specified number of days from April through to August 2023, to carry out administrative work on this scheme. This additional grant will be paid to schools shortly. Full evaluation of the first year of implementation of the scheme will be undertaken in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in order to inform the guidance implementation costs and efficiency of the scheme for future years.
I am acutely aware of the various costs placed upon families on the return of their children to school each September and this important new permanent measure will significantly reduce the back-to-school financial burden for many families.
There are approximately 150 small independent bookshops right across this country. If we do not tinker with this scheme and fix it, it will push many of those bookshops, which are already operating on very fine financial margins, to the brink. If we can fix this scheme and tinker with it, with a couple of the suggestions I have made, it will make this a very profitable and very viable scheme for bookshops, and that is really what we want to do.
Alternatively, there is a good scheme in the Italian education system where the department of education provides book vouchers to the parents through the schools. The parents take those vouchers and use them in their local shops. That is a good scheme that ensures business is being kept in those towns. It takes away the concept of a tender process where there is a race to the bottom and a big company or group can take over that market. I would appreciate it if we could look at this and fix these few issues.
The introduction of the free primary schoolbooks scheme is a historic moment in education and helps us live up to the promise of free education. I thank the Senator for raising this matter and emphasise the significance of the funding for this groundbreaking scheme. I also acknowledge the enormous amount of work that has taken place since the scheme was announced in March. It is ongoing to ensure children and young people in primary and special school have books in place for the beginning of new school year.
I thank the Senator for making practical, positive suggestions for how to improve the scheme. I will bring them back to the Minister. The Department of Education would be wise to consider all the Senator's suggestions as part of the evaluation of the first full year of the scheme's operation.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.12 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.30 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.12 a.m. and resumed at 11.30 a.m.