Westmeath and Roscommon primary schools given €1.8m to provide free books

Funding of over €1.8 million has been announced by the Department of Education to provide primary and special school children in Westmeath and Roscommon with free school books from September.

In this year's Budget, a sum of over €50 million was allocated by the Government to provide free books to all primary-level pupils from the start of the next school year.

An announcement from Education Minister Norma Foley today (Wednesday) confirmed that the scheme would see schools receiving €96 in respect of each pupil enrolled.

This equates to grant funding of €1,102,272 for schools in Westmeath, and €772,704 for Roscommon primary schools and special schools.

The Education Minister said the decision to introduce free school books at primary level was a response to back-to-school costs, which "can be a source of financial difficulty for many families" each year.

"Grant payments being made this week as part of this ground-breaking new scheme will mean that parents or guardians will no longer need to buy or rent schoolbooks, workbooks or copybooks for their children," said the Minister.

"Schools will now have the funding required to cover the costs of providing these items ahead of the start of the new school year, helping to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to access and reap the benefits of education," she added.

Further details of how the scheme will operate are available online from the Department of Education here.