Budget 2024: Free schoolbooks will not apply to private school students

Free schoolbooks at second level will not apply to almost 30,000 students attending fee-charging schools, Minister for Education Norma Foley has confirmed.

Budget 2024 will extend free schoolbooks to second level students up to Junior Cycle to more than 210,000 students in schools in the so-called free scheme. It is estimated to be worth just over €310 per student.

At a press conference at Government Buildings on Wednesday, Ms Foley said the fee-charging school sector already receives extensive support in the form of salaries for teaching staff.

She said last year’s decision to extend free schoolbooks to the primary sector also applied to pupils attending schools in the free scheme only.

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Ms Foley clarified that the funding for free schoolbooks will not apply to digital devices or e-books.

She said that while a significant number of schools require parents to purchase iPads or other devices, not all did. However, all schools still used schoolbooks and other resources such as dictionaries or calculators.

While Ms Foley described as “unprecedented” the overall €10.5 billion investment in education next year, schools have complained that additional funding being provided for schools to meet rising running costs such as heating and electricity has been cut year-on-year.

While additional funding of €90 million was provided last year, it has fallen to €81 million this year.

Ms Foley said this year’s additional funding still represented a “significant uplift” and it included €20 million in permanent capitation funding.

“This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools, bringing the basic rate of capitation to €200 per student in primary schools and to €345 in post-primary schools,” she said.

Ms Foley added school managers had sought an increase in the basic capitation rate and she was happy to be able to deliver this.

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The Minister also confirmed that an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility will be allocated to assist the leadership and management in schools. She said these middle-management posts will be “split” between primary and second level.

On the issue of teacher supply, Ms Foley said an incentive scheme to partially refund future Professional Masters in Education (PME) fees will be established, as well as additional upskilling teacher programmes for in demand subjects.

School transport will also receive €92 million in additional funding to provide additional places for children with special educational needs, increased bus contractor costs and a continued reduction in school transport fees.

Overall, Ms Foley said additional funds next year build on significant increases in recent budgets will enhance the investment in Ireland’s primary and post-primary education system.

“The significant increased investment is the largest education budget in the history of the State and reflects the government’s commitment to a quality inclusive school system and improved learning outcomes for every student,” she said.

In special education, Minister of State Josepha Madigan said an additional 1,216 special needs assistants and 744 additional special educational needs teachers will be hired in classrooms providing for 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs.

In addition, she said an additional €11 million for special schools catering for children with special educational needs will remove the threshold for the appointment of an administrative deputy principal and provide for a further 100 teaching posts.

There will also be €20 million in funding for an enhanced summer programme totalling €40 million for summer 2024.