Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the panel. Most of the issues I was going to raise have already been raised, particularly that of disadvantaged schools. I would go a step further and say there are disadvantaged pupils within these areas. We all know it is great and there is no doubt it is the way to go, but one must take into account that some of these students may not have a computer at home or an iPad or tablet. One can get a virus on a computer at home, and they are at a disadvantage because they cannot afford to get it fixed. I dropped my iPad and it cost me an arm and a leg to repair the glass. I know many parents would not have that kind of money. If one has two or three pupils in the house, it cannot be a case in which one child does his or her work first, followed by the next child and then the next child. Each student will need his or her device at home to pick up the homework so some students will be at a disadvantage in respect of this. I hope we have plans to address that problem.

The delegation spoke about the roll-out of broadband, which is excellent. I know the Department does not have plans to roll it out to primary schools. I come from an area that is a black hole for broadband because we cannot get high-speed broadband no matter how hard we try, and we have tried every company. My local school is next door to me so I know the problems it encounters. That will also be a problem.

I am concerned that students are losing the art of handwriting and spelling. Many teenagers are atrocious spellers because of texting and mobile phones. They have their own language and are falling down on spelling so we cannot afford to take our eye off the ball in that regard. We must keep up the skills of handwriting and spelling in schools. A member of my extended family who is a young child and very intelligent cannot hold a pen or write and is falling behind because he cannot write down homework. It was suggested that he go digital and use computers, which has brought him on in leaps and bounds because he has the intelligence but could not get it down on a piece of paper. I know it will be a great advantage to people who have those problems. I again thank the delegation for coming before us on this matter.