School books for all Junior Cycle students are set to be made free from September.
The move was announced in the Budget last year, but the Department of Education today announced the details of the scheme.
Books, eBooks and certain classroom resources will be provided by the Government, with schools to receive additional funding in order to procure more books and resources for students.
Schools will own the books and resources, which will be on loan to the students.
This will partially eliminate the financial burden many families feel when sending their children to secondary school, with book rental costs for a single year being several hundred euros in many secondary schools.
However, those costs will still remain for Senior Cycle students for the time being.