Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2025
458. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Youth the role her Department has in ensuring the quality and curriculum integrity of schoolbooks sold to schools; if she will ensure that these books comply with the curriculum and ethos of the Department of Education and Youth. [34492/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe curriculum specification and prescribed material for any subject are determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) www.ncca.ie. There is no obligation on a school to use any textbooks in their delivery of the curriculum. The role of the school is to provide an appropriate education for all its pupils. Schools have autonomy in choosing the resources and programmes that best support the work within their own classrooms. It is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources (other than prescribed material) that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum.
In general, my Department does not have a role in approving, commissioning, sponsoring or endorsing any content in any educational textbook. The majority of textbooks are commissioned and published by educational publishers, and schools select their books from those available from a number of publishers. The content of any individual textbook is determined by the publisher themselves.
