Students in all Mayo schools to benefit from free books – Dillon

Free books will be provided in all primary, post-primary and special schools in Mayo, Minister of State, Alan Dillon TD has today confirmed.

Nearly one million students across Ireland will benefit from the expansion of the free schoolbooks scheme.

Minister Dillon said thousands of students in primary, special and post-primary schools across Mayo in the Free Education Scheme will be provided with free schoolbooks.

“It’s fantastic to see further expansion of the Free Education Scheme. By providing these books, it will ease some of the financial pressures facing families in Mayo during the back-to-school period.

“Schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks will be provided directly to all pupils by schools, so there is no need for parents or guardians to buy or rent books.

“Schools will also be provided with sufficient funding to cover the costs of supplying these books and all schools will receive guidance on the scheme.

“It’s also great to see the Department of Education will maintain an Administration Support Grant to help schools implement the scheme and relieve the administrative burden on schools.

“In particular, this is a major support for parents of children with special educational needs, in mainstream, special classes, or special schools.

“The objective of the scheme is about ensuring every child has the resources required to access education and also easing financial burdens surrounding the back-to-school costs which can be a cause of financial difficulty for many families each year,” Minister Dillon concluded.