Publisher offers free ebooks to second-level pupils

A publisher has offered to give every second-level student free ebooks and cheaper text books for a share of the Department of Education €14m school book budget.

The idea of Kerry-based educate.ie is supported by Barnardos’ chief Fergus Finlay but he said the budget would have to be open to competition among publishers.

The Castleisland printing company has branched into publishing exam paper books, textbooks and revision books in recent years.

Managing director Tony Walsh said it has a three-year plan that could lead to huge savings for parents and schools.

“The Government is paying €14m in grants to schools for books which eventually ends up in the pockets of publishers. If we got €2m of that to cover costs, we could give free ebooks to everybody and the textbooks that cost €35 will be just €6,” he said.

While educate.ie has a limited range of textbooks at present, Mr Walsh says the funding would help it greatly expand the range.

“We are just starting to develop our books but we could deliver and be paid afterwards,” he said.

However, while he has not had formal meetings with the Department of Education, Mr Walsh said he has been told his proposal would be anti-competitive.

“It’s very anti-competitive if parents are paying out the kind of money they do for books when there’s an alternative. The plan would allow us expand and keep the printing of schoolbooks in Ireland,” he said.

Educate.ie employs 102 people and it outlined its proposal to Barnardos after an annual school cost survey in August showed the cost of books for an average first-year student at €275.

“Given the cost of going back to school, what is being proposed makes an awful lot of sense. It does require capital investment that can only come from the State and that would have to involve some form of competitive tendering,” said Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay.