Primary school children can get free books from today

The new scheme will provide free books for primary school kids.

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Primary school children will be provided with free books under a new scheme launched today.

Schools will be  paid just under 100 euro per child to provide workbooks, textbooks and copies.

More than 558,000 pupils in 3,230 primary schools, including 130 special schools, will benefit from this scheme.

It is the first time the state has funded free books for every primary pupil.

The schoolbooks will be the property of the school and will have to be returned at the end of the school year.

Minister for Education Norma Foley says schools will be supported with the rollout of the scheme:

'We're also giving schools significant funding to ensure that they will have additional days available to them to resource the roll-out'. 

This scheme will ensure that parents and guardians will not be asked to buy or rent any school books, workbooks or copybooks from this Autumn.

The free schoolbooks scheme was announced as part of Budget 2023 and is expected to become a permanent measure.

Schools will have the flexibility to decide where to purchase the books, including from local bookshops.