Book rental schemes in schools could reduce family bills for school books by as much as 80%.

A report compiled by the Department of Education suggests that more than three quarters of primary schools operate a book rental scheme for pupils.

To date there has been a low response rate for secondary schools to get involved in the book rental scheme.

The National Parents Council has criticised the low response rate of post-primary schools to book rental schemes.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, National Parents Council spokesperson Jackie O'Callaghan said the book rental scheme in post primary schools is "in operation up to junior cycle."

She said because of the continuous change in the books being used for the senior cycle it is difficult to have a store of books for rental.