Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 January 2014
131. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will extend his Department’s support for book rental schemes in order that more schools and pupils can avail of it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2350/14]
View answer133. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review his decision to exclude primary schools with existing book rental schemes from the new €15 million investment in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2324/14]
View answer137. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the issues raised in his proposed book rental scheme in view of the manner in which the information regarding existing schemes was collected by his Department. [2342/14]
View answer154. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that all schools are treated equitably with regard to book rental schemes; and that those schools which proactively introduced schemes will not find themselves disadvantaged by not being awarded the financial support being made available to those setting up schemes. [2322/14]
View answerI wish to follow up on what my colleague highlighted with regard to the seriously discriminatory policy the Minister is pursuing in the allocation of resources for the provision of the school book rental scheme. As I have stated, it is an inequitable and very unfair policy and the mechanism by which the Minister is implementing it needs to be radically reviewed to ensure fairness and equity throughout the scheme.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 131, 133, 137 and 154 together.
The matter has been dealt with and I can only repeat what I stated, that I responded to a request from parents to reduce the cost of sending children to school. They identified two areas, namely, books and uniforms. I will leave the issue of uniforms aside because I have asked for a survey to be conducted in this regard and when I receive it, I will return to the House and answer questions.
With regard to books, in the interests of fairness, I want every school to have a book rental scheme. Approximately 20% of schools were without such a scheme. I received an extra €5 million per year for three years - a total of €15 million - to fill the gap in the figure of 20%. Was it unfair to those who had struggled to put in place a school book rental scheme? Yes, it was, but it was very fair to those kids in schools which had no book rental scheme. I had to make that choice and I made it in the way I did. The book grant of €7 million a year goes to all other schools and this will continue. If I get extra resources, it will help to augment the scheme in some schools which commenced a book rental scheme in two, three or four areas.
It will be equalised. If I can improve the scheme in the future I will, but I wanted to ensure that every parent struggling with the cost of sending his or her child to school had the choice of paying €40 a year under this scheme as distinct from the €150 to €200 it could cost for books.
I am amazed that a Labour Party Minister has acknowledged in the House that what he has introduced is unfair. He said in reply to Deputy McConalogue earlier to justify this announcement that there was unfairness prior to the introduction of this scheme because other schools were introducing it. However, this is an opportunity for the Minister to ensure fairness in every school and he can pursue this agenda. Why is he pursuing such a highly discriminatory policy? He is penalising schools that have put in place a much needed book rental scheme from their own resources and he has also given no recognition to the variety of schemes currently in place. I tabled a parliamentary question and sent a letter to the Minister about a school in my constituency which offers a book rental scheme only for one subject and has done so for only the past two years, but is getting nothing under the new scheme. That is unfair and inequitable and the scheme needs to be revisited.
It was amazing to pick up local newspapers the length and breadth of the country and read that backbench Deputies from both Government parties had heralded this announcement in the budget as a massive success. They said every school in their constituencies would benefit from this cash injection into the book rental scheme. It was a fabrication because, as the Minister acknowledged, only 24% of schools will benefit. He has the opportunity to ensure fairness across the board and I ask him to revisit the scheme to ensure we have a fair and equitable system.
About whom are we concerned in the context of fairness? I am concerned about parents in poor areas and kids in poor households whose parents simply do not have the wherewithal to buy the books they need. That was my starting point in the measurement of fairness. I acknowledge that it was a choice and, in some cases, parents have put their hands deep into their pockets following the leadership of school principals or senior teachers to put a book rental system in place. It certainly appears to be unfair to those people who have worked hard and engaged in fund-raising.
It is unfair.
It appears to be unfair and I can see how they would feel that. However, for the past 15 years the newspapers have run back-to-school stories about the cost of uniforms and books.
Why did the Minister cut the allowance?
We have started to do something about this.
The Minister cut the allowance.
If I secure additional resources I will attempt to equalise the position, but Ireland is not a fair society, and in the days before the crisis hit some schools could raise money for book schemes of various kinds. The Deputy and I have visited such schools, but not every school was able to do this. I am trying to introduce fairness for every parent and child and this is the first step on that road.
I accept that the Minister gave money to schools that needed and deserved it, and that is a benefit. He also acknowledged the anger among schools. I received a letter from the principal of Mercy School Wexford, Pat Gately, who was going mad about the fact the school was under a great deal of pressure to set up the scheme. He deals with many parents from a lower socioeconomic background and he was struggling to make it work. The scheme has been set up in such a way that some parents get the books free while the better-off parents subsidise them. Meanwhile, some schools did not set up a scheme because they did not need it. They have children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and did not see a great need for it but now they are going to avail of the scheme.
I acknowledge it would be difficult to organise, but will the Minister consider the schools which went to the bother of setting up their own schemes and are now finding it difficult because they have to deal with significant numbers of children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds? It might be possible to give some assistance to these schools.
I am prepared to examine the scheme at the end of the year, but I will have to do so within fixed resources. I have €5 million per year for the next three years and an annual book grant of €7 million. The Deputies opposite have the same option as me of investigating whether we have complete information. If a school has a full book rental scheme up and running, it may not get any money under the book grant scheme and we will use some of the €7 million to skew it towards schools which have started book rental schemes but which have not completed their preparations in the manner suggested. There are different ways of doing this, but the amount of money is fixed. If Deputies or schools are prepared to come forward with suggestions for completing book rental scheme preparations, I will be open to them provided they understand the constraints under which I must operate, namely, that the total amount for next year is €12 million, comprising €7 million from the book grant scheme and €5 million from the special rental scheme. At the end of the day I want all parents to feel their children have access to book rental schemes they can afford.
The policy of ensuring every school has a school book rental scheme is commendable and we fully support it. However, we part ways on the question of how the scheme will proceed. It is based on very crude information and the only question asked was whether the school operated a school book rental scheme. Any school that answered "Yes" was excluded from the new scheme, even though some of these schools were struggling to maintain their rental schemes or operated schemes that were not particularly wide ranging. That information should have been sought in the questionnaire because we are now looking at a total of €15 million in the next three years. The Minister previously stated the €15 million allocation would be sufficient to ensure that by the end of year three every primary school in the State would have a school book rental scheme. He may be able to confirm whether that is still his estimate or whether the figure will be significantly less. Is anything available to help schools which are in the early stages of implementing school book rental schemes and which may only cover one subject? Is this something that can be reviewed at the end of year one? Perhaps further information on the types of school book rental scheme in place can be gathered in the next 12 months to ensure that if additional money is available in year two, the scheme can be extended to schools which have already started schemes but which have not got them to a stage where they are fully operational. Is that something to which the Minister is willing to commit?
I thank the Deputy for his comments and I am broadly supportive of his suggested approach. I will raise the matter with the officials in my Department to investigate whether we can get information on any discrepancy between schools that are benefiting from this initiative, on the one hand, and those which are struggling to improve current schemes, on the other, with a view to achieving equality between schools. If I have more information, I can exercise discretion over the money.
It is welcome that the Minister has recognised the enormous cost of school books and I accept that the scheme is an attempt to address the issue. However, he recognises that it is unfair and, as has been noted both on this side of the House and in his back benches, the issue needs to be examined further. When he examines the figures, I think he will find that some of the schools which were under the least pressure to introduce schemes because of their affluence or other reasons were able to use voluntary fund-raising efforts to introduce other measures which put them at an advantage. These will be the beneficiaries of the scheme. Has he considered making the system mandatory? How does he think iPads and the move away from print books will impact on schemes?
In Lusk, parents of pupils in the secondary school are being asked for €700 for an iPad system, which is obviously cheaper in the long run. Could the Minister consider including e-books and such technology as part of his review of the book rental scheme? Schools are moving in that direction, but it is enormously costly, particularly at the inception.
I thank Deputy Clare Daly for her comments. In deference to the time and the fact that answers have been given already, I will respond to her last point, which is very interesting. We are in the middle of a transition from paper to electronic format. I would encourage schools to do this and we will try to co-ordinate it. Because of the universality of the different systems under which one can use iPads or different types of tablet which are compatible in terms of receiving information - this was not the case in the past when, for example, one had Betamax and VHS platforms for video - there is an argument at post-primary level for electronic storage of much of the material that young students are using, with extraordinary savings. As a non-professional educationalist, my own view is that young infants from two, three and four years of age, and those up to the age of ten, should feel the texture of a book and the printed word in reading and writing, and the physical holding of it. It is about more than merely getting information. It is about getting used to the format in which much information will remain in situ for the rest of their lives, even though they will be highly engaged in digital learning as well. That is why the book rental scheme at primary school level is so important. I will deal with the issues Deputy Daly raised and about which I answered the other Deputies.
