Published on
Minister for Education and Skills is to meet with book publishers to address high cost of school books
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn T.D., today told the Dáil that he would meet with book publishers and representatives of parents shortly to discuss the high cost of school books.
Speaking in the Dáil today, the Minister also expressed his concern at the frequent rate of revisions to school books made by publishers.
He said, "I sympathise with parents who are experiencing difficulty in paying for school books. The harsh economic reality in Ireland means money is tight for many parents."
"I will see what role my Department can play in ensuring that revisions of books are kept to a minimum."
The commitment from Minister Quinn comes on foot of concerns being raised by organisations such as the St Vincent de Paul, as well as teacher organisations and parents.
However, the Minister added that apart from prescribed texts at second-level, decisions on textbooks are usually taken at school level. Therefore, it may be necessary to encourage individual schools to take a more cost-conscious approach to the selection of books in their classes.
As another method of alleviating the financial hardship some parents face every school year, the Minister continued, "I will continue to encourage schools to establish book rental schemes as the most effective means of lowering the cost of books for all students. Many schools are already using the funding for books provided by my Department to operate successful rental schemes."
Total funding of €15 million euros is available to primary and secondary schools for this year to fund book support. Priority is given to DEIS schools in order to assist those most in need.