1221. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the expenditure incurred under the free schoolbooks scheme in each year since its introduction; the projected expenditure for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60860/26]

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 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.

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.

In Budget 2024, the Government announced funding of over €68 million to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to Junior Cycle students in recognised post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This reinforced the Government’s commitment to expand the free schoolbooks scheme to schools nationwide, as resources allow.

Budget 2025 extended the scheme further 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.

A breakdown of schoolbook grant funding under the schoolbook scheme for primary schools (2023-2026) and post-primary schools (2024-2026) is as follows:

Primary Schoolbooks Scheme

Post-Primary Schoolbooks Scheme

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.

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 and core classroom resources.

Further detail on the schoolbooks scheme is available at Schoolbooks Scheme Information Hub: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/schoolbooks-scheme-information-hub/.