Mayo students to benefit from final phase of free schoolbooks scheme
Students in all schools across Mayo are set to benefit from the final phase of free schoolbooks scheme, according to Minister of State Alan Dillon.
Minister Dillon said: “Free schoolbooks and core classroom resources will be provided to all Mayo students in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme from the 2025/26 school year, as announced by my colleague the Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee.
“The government first proposed a free schoolbooks pilot scheme in 2020 in an effort to ensure that all of our children and young people have the opportunity of access to education which empowers them to thrive and realise the full extent of their potential.
"Today is a landmark day in that regard; for the first time, almost one million students nationally will get free schoolbooks from the start of the 2025/2026 school year.
“Funding of over €123 million will ensure we provide schoolbooks to all post-primary students within the Free Education Scheme. It is a permanent measure that will help to ease the financial burdens facing families at back-to-school time.”
Minister Dillon added: “The Department of Education will assist Mayo schools by putting in place an enhanced administration support grant package for post-primary schools in recognition of the volume of work to be undertaken this year with the further expansion of the scheme. A tailored procurement solution to support schools which will also be up and running in the coming weeks.
“It’s important also to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of school leaders and school communities the length and breadth of Mayo who were key to the success of the implementation of the Junior Cycle Schoolbooks Scheme in 2024.”
The Post-Primary Schoolbooks Scheme means that:
* Schoolbooks, as well as core classroom resources such as journals, copybooks, dictionaries, and calculators, will be provided for all students in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. There is no need for parents or guardians to buy or rent these items.
* Schools will be provided with sufficient funding to cover the costs of providing these items.
* Schoolbooks are the property of the school and must be returned at the end of the school year or at the end of Junior/Senior Cycle.
To support the administration of this scheme, the Department of Education is allocating an Administration Support Grant to post-primary schools for the 2025/26 school year, based on the size of the school, to assist with any additional work required to implement the scheme.
Schools may use this grant to employ an individual(s) to carry out administrative work on the scheme or use the money towards other administrative costs associated with implementing the scheme.
The Department is issuing guidance shortly on the scheme for post-primary schools and any post-primary schools with queries about the scheme can contact the Department directly.
Over the coming period the Department will publish the guidance for schools and all information on how the scheme will operate.