Publishers blame Vat rate for cost of books

The publishers of school books have demanded a change in government policy on Vat on e-textbooks and said they were doing all they could to limit the costs borne by parents.

The Irish Educational Publishers’ Association (IEPA), which is made up of large companies, including Gill & Macmillan and CJ Fallon, stressed that just 42 books from more than 2,336 were revised last year, and half of those were due to curriculum change.

It made the comments as it published its annual survey, which revealed that the number of e-textbooks in use last year reached 40,000, up from just 100 in 2010.