I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 278 to 280, inclusive, together.
My Department supports the operation of book rental schemes through the funding provided under the School Books Grant Scheme. Under this scheme, my Department provides funding of €16.6m annually to primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme. School book rental schemes have an important role to play in reducing the cost of school books for parents.
The current arrangements for the school book grant rely on the local knowledge of the school in order to ensure a fair allocation of funds to those most in need. The system is fully compatible with local autonomy.
My Department does not hold information in relation to the expenditure on books by individual schools at primary and post-primary level or on the numbers of children at primary and post-primary who benefit from the book rental scheme. However the most recent figures available indicate that 96% of primary schools and 68% of post-primary schools operate a book rental scheme.
The attached document gives a breakdown of the following:
- Funding provided under the School Book Grant Scheme for primary and post-primary schools which includes capital expenditure for the years 2010 to date.
- Numbers of schools at primary and post-primary participating in the scheme where such information is held by my Department.
One of the actions as part of the Action Plan for Education is to strengthen the focus on reducing school costs for parents by increasing the financial support for book rental schemes, in order to reduce/eliminate school book costs for parents as resources permit.
Book Grant including capital expenditure - Primary & Post-primary
Year
|
Primary
|
Post Primary
|
Book Grant Paid
|
Seed Capital for Book Rental
|
Total incl seed capital
|
Book Grant Paid
|
2010
|
€6,870,617
|
|
€6,870,617
|
€7,801,046
|
2011
|
€6,906,112
|
|
€6,906,112
|
€7,968,084
|
2012
|
€6,980,684
|
|
€6,980,684
|
€8,085,243
|
2013
|
€7,090,319
|
|
€7,090,319
|
€8,273,229
|
2014
|
€7,198,663
|
€4,996,160
|
€12,194,823
|
€8,410,203
|
2015
|
€7,295,476
|
€5,489,790
|
€12,785,266
|
€8,610,096
|
2016
|
€7,394,194
|
€5,281,730
|
€12,675,924
|
€8,747,325
|
2017
|
€7,517,174
|
|
€7,517,174
|
€8,990,202
|
2018 to date
|
€7,573,819
|
|
€7,573,819
|
€9,104,229
|
No. of Schools participating in Book Rental Scheme
School Year
|
Primary Schools
|
Post-Primary Schools
|
Participating in book rental scheme
|
Not participating in book rental scheme
|
Participating in book rental scheme
|
Not participating in book rental scheme
|
2011/2012
|
2493
|
666
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
2012/2013
|
2676
|
476
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
2013/2014
|
2705
|
440
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
2014/2015
|
2974
|
163
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
2015/2016
|
3001
|
123
|
428
|
229
|
2016/2017
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
435
|
228
|
2017/2018
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
450
|
213
|