More than 15,000 primary pupils in the most disadvantaged areas are to get free school books in a new €1m initiative.

A grant, which is being paid to 102 schools, will bring to €85 the amount available for each pupil, an increase of €64 on the subsidy paid under the existing Department of Education books grant scheme for pupils in schools serving disadvantaged communities.

The 15,000 pupils set to benefit from the initiative represent about 3pc of the primary school population.

Announcing what he described as a pilot scheme, Education Minister Joe McHugh said the aim was “to provide school books for these children and their families, and we hope to build on this”.

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All the schools involved are in the Department of Education’s Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (Deis) scheme and will be notified in coming days of their inclusion in the programme.

The schools, which are in both urban and rural areas, were selected based on their levels of concentrated disadvantage.

The additional funding is in line with costings set out in the 2019 Barnardos Real Cost of School report, which says €85 is the average cost of primary schools books.

Mr McHugh said the cost of books was recognised as a significant element of back to school costs and the programme aimed “to ease the financial burden on families as well as helping to improve children’s education and enjoy the beauty of books”.

The department already provides a book grant, worth €17m, to primary and post-primary schools, other than those in the fee-paying sector, as a contribution to costs, with Deis schools receiving an enhanced rate.

It is up to an individual board of management to decide its own policy in relation to the use of the grant, but all schools are encouraged to operate rental schemes to help alleviate costs. Schools are also expected to adopt a cost-conscious approach to the selection of books.

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