asked the Minister for Education the steps he is taking to reduce the cost of school books.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Book Costs.
12.
The production of school books is in the hands of commercial firms and there is no means open to me of reducing the cost of these books.
Would the Minister agree that the high cost of books and the very limited amount of money available for free books is making a farce of the free post-primary education scheme and the poorer sections are the ones hit and we are very rapidly returning to the bad old days when the income of the parents decided who would or would not receive post-primary education and, in those circumstances, has the Minister any plans for subsidising the price of books or making more money available to the schools so that more free books will be available to the students?
I have no plans to subsidise school books. The question of books for students is outside the scope of the question tabled.
I cannot see why it is outside the scope of the question.
In the sense that the Deputy asked me if I had taken steps to reduce the cost of school books.
If money is made available to the students it will reduce the cost of the books to them. I would again ask the Minister if he proposes to make provision for a very much higher subvention this year for the provision of free books in the post-primary sector and, of course, in the primary sector also.
We are having repetition.
I have already said that, while I sympathise with the tenor of the Deputy's remarks, it does not arise on this question