For the 2024/25 school year all students in Junior Cycle years in the free education system received free schoolbooks and certain other resources in August 2024.

This new scheme was introduced by Minister for Education Norma Foley TD. It is in recognition of the cost of preparing children and young people for the return to school. The new scheme eliminates the cost to parents/guardians of providing schoolbooks and core classroom resources. The scheme will ensure equity of access, where all children and young people enrolled in Junior Cycle years in post primary schools in the Free Education Scheme can commence the new school year with the same schoolbooks and classroom resources as other children and young people in their class.

“Schoolbooks” includes all relevant schoolbooks, including e-books at Junior Cert level. It also covers workbooks in use in the school to support teaching and subject learning at Junior Cycle. It also includes necessary additional texts such as novels and plays for English or books of past Junior Cycle examination papers for all subjects. Schools now have responsibility for providing schoolbooks and core classroom resources to all Junior Cycle students at the start of each school year.

Parents/Guardians of students commencing second and third year will have already purchased a significant amount of the schoolbooks and classroom resources required for Junior Cycle. Any additional schoolbooks and core classroom resources required by students in second and third year will now be covered under the new scheme.

All schoolbooks and core classroom resources provided under the new scheme will remain the property of the school, so that they can be reused in future years (where applicable). Schoolbooks will be provided on loan to students and must be returned to school at the end of the 3 years of Junior Cycle. Please remind your children to take care of their schoolbooks and classroom resources and keep them in good condition during the period that they are in their possession. It is not permitted to write on schoolbooks and if damaged parents must supply replacement copies to the school.

There may be some additional classroom resources that are not covered by the scheme. Further details (if any) on what items parents/guardians will need to supply for the return to/during school year or pay a fee to the school for will be itemised and communicated to parents/guardians by the school in due course.

This scheme has now been extended to all Senior Cycle students from September 2025.