One of the unintended consequences of the free school textbook scheme was how many independent bookshops closed as they relied on local people coming to their shops to buy the textbooks every year.

This scheme was never designed to make education better for children. It was designed to win votes from parents who were saving €80 a year.

As a reader, there’s nothing more lovely than a good independent bookshop. While not taking away from the big bookshops, there’s something special about independent bookshops. Wherever I am in Ireland, if a town or a village has one, I’ll be there. As a writer, independent bookshops are the ones that stock the small publishing houses’ books. The free book scheme has added further pressure to the arts and it’s a real shame.