1126. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total funding provided under the free schoolbooks scheme since its introduction, in each county, at both primary and post-primary level, for each county and each school year by county; and the amount by primary funding, post-primary funding , total funding, in tabular form. [55007/26]

1127. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average level of funding provided per pupil under the free schoolbooks scheme since its introduction, at both primary and post-primary level, by county and school year, the amount by county primary average per pupil, post-primary average per pupil and the number of pupils benefiting, in tabular form. [55008/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1126 and 1127 together.

The Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.

The Programme for Government published in 2025 recognises that education is at the heart of all our ambitions as a country. Excellent and innovative education and training are essential to delivering a fair society and a strong economy. It contains a commitment to “provide free schoolbooks to all children in the Free Education Scheme and introduce changes as needed to the operation of this scheme”.

The previous Programme for Government in 2020 contained a commitment to commence a free schoolbooks scheme pilot in September 2020 and, pending a successful review of the pilot, expand the scheme to schools nationwide, as resources allow. From 2020 to 2022, a three-year free schoolbooks scheme pilot was introduced in 102 DEIS primary schools.

Primary Schoolbooks Scheme

Budget 2023 announced funding of over €50 million to provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks, to all children and young people enrolled in recognised primary schools, including special schools.

A per capita grant of €96 per pupil was paid.

In Budget 2024, my department secured €47 million for the second year of the Primary Schoolbooks Scheme. The per capita rate was reduced to €80.

As the scheme is implemented in every recognised primary and special school, schools will have used the funding provided over the past 3 years to purchase stocks of schoolbooks and other classroom resources. Some of these items will be available to schools for reuse in future school years, including in the 2026/27 school year. The funding allocated to the scheme since the 2023/24 school year takes account of this. The rate was frontloaded for schools in the first year of the scheme and this was reflected in a reduced primary per capita rate of €80 provided in the 2024/25, 2025/26 and the 2026/27 school years.

Post-Primary Schoolbook Scheme

In Budget 2024, the Government announced that the free schoolbooks scheme was to be extended to Junior Cycle students in recognised post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. The total investment of over €68 million in 2024 reinforced the Government’s commitment to expand the free schoolbooks scheme to schools nationwide, as resources allow.

Budget 2025 extended the scheme to cover all students enrolled in Senior Cycle, including Transition Year, in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme from the start of the 2025/26 school year. Under the scheme, post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme receive €309 per Junior Cycle student, €142 per Transition Year student, and €295 per Senior Cycle student, to provide schoolbooks and core classroom resources. These rates have also been paid in respect of students enrolled in post-primary programmes in special schools.

With a total funding package of over €160 million available from my department in 2026, the Schoolbooks Scheme will continue to benefit almost one million children and young people and is helping to ease the financial burden facing families at back-to-school time. This means every child in the Free Education Scheme in our country continues to receive free schoolbooks/eBooks and core classroom resources.

Administration Support Grant

My department has also allocated an administration support grant to schools, based on the size of the school to assist with the additional work required in order to implement the scheme. This grant can be used to employ a person/s to work for a specified number of days to carry out administrative work on the scheme. The administration support grant paid to schools for the 2026/27 school year is based on the enrolment of the school on 30 September 2025.

Further detail on the scheme is available at Schoolbooks Scheme Information Hub

A breakdown of book grant funding under the schoolbook scheme for primary (2023-2026) and post-primary (2024-2026) based on the per-capita rates as outlined above is detailed in the attached documents.

Post Primary Schoolbook scheme funding 2024

Primary schoolbook scheme funding 2024