Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2024
278. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the estimated first and full-year cost of restoring the school libraries fund of €10 per child in academic year 2024-2025 and increasing this by a further €2.50 per child in academic year 2025-2026, in tabular form. [15990/24]
View answerCurrently the Department’s preliminary data for schools under the Free Education Scheme 2023-2024 indicates there are 558,143 learners in recognised primary and special schools and 406,392 students in post-primary schools. Based on these preliminary figures, the cost of restoring the school libraries fund by €10 per child in academic year 2024-2025 and increasing this by a further €2.50 per child in academic year 2025-2026, would be as follows:
|
Number of pupils |
Cost in 2024-2025 |
Cost in 2025-2026 |
|
964,535 |
€9,645,350 |
€12,056,687.50 |
Furthermore, the estimated additional costing in relation to the provision of libraries in schools would be substantial. For example the provision of a librarian in each school would have an estimated cost of €212,000,000 per annum. The provision would include many different factors in addition to librarians such as provision of the physical space, fixtures and fittings, IT facilities, librarian assistants, stock (physical and digital), national co-ordinator, professional development etc. In order to have accurate costings an evaluation would be required to include an assessment of the different school structures as each school type would require different works etc.
As the Deputy is aware, once off funding of €20 million was made available in May 2022 to enable all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme to improve their existing literacy resource banks. Support is being provided so as to ensure that schools can make best use of the grant funding within their schools. In this regard the Department is working with the Public Library Service.
Webinars and the Public Library Resource Guide for Schools provides information for primary and post-primary schools to develop and expand reading and literacy collections within the school setting (www.librariesireland.ie/services/right-to-read/services-to-schools). The Public Library Supports for Schools are jointly agreed by the Department of Education and the Department of Rural and Community Development.
A teacher’s card is made available to every teacher in every school, which enables each teacher to borrow items for his/her class. As no doubt the Deputy is aware, library membership is completely free of charge for everyone in every library in the country. Further information on the services to schools can be found at www.librariesireland.ie/services/right-to-read/services-to-schools. Libraries Ireland also offer a Digital Library Service, and currently anyone with a library card can access the eBooks, Audio books and eLearning Resources.
The Library Service published ‘The Library is the Place: National Public Library Strategy 2023-2027in July 2023. Under this strategy and the new Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy being developed by the Department of Education Department will further enhance the partnership with the Library Service to increase school usages of the resources that are available through the public libraries.
The Department issued a grant in 2023 to provide free schoolbooks for all children and young people enrolled in all recognised primary schools, including special schools. This grant has been extended, in 2024, to provide free schoolbooks for all Junior Cycle students in the Free Education Scheme. Where any surplus funding remains after all other schoolbooks and related classroom resources costs have been met, a school has the discretion to purchase library books, audio books and other material to increase the literacy (in English, Irish or other languages) and numeracy resources for their school.
Under the Programme for Government my Department was tasked with the development of a successor Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy. The strategy is being informed by robust research to include consideration of national and international practice, by extensive stakeholder engagement and public consultation. It is intended that the new strategy would be published in 2024. This strategy will set the vision for the coming 10 years with recommendations/ actions to improve literacy, numeracy and digital literacy levels from early years to post-primary level.
I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.
