Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Our agenda for 2013 is heavily influenced by Ireland's Presidency of the European Council, and the topic of digital literacy is expected to feature strongly in our Presidency of the European Union. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation expects to chair a major conference on digital literacy and there is a role in education in preparing Ireland's workforce for the digital age and the digital marketplace. In that regard, approximately six meetings of committee chairs from each of the Parliaments will be held over the course of the Presidency. The issue to be examined in the June meeting is digital literacy, which involves this Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, and the committee on communications and energy. The digital agenda crosses the boundaries of those three Departments and one of the things the Presidency will do is have those meetings of committee chairs from all the Parliaments in the EU and also the European Parliament. This meeting is a precursor to the meeting in June to allow us examine the issue as a committee.

I welcome the officials from the Department of Education and Skills who will brief us on the role of the Department in this area. In that regard, we will welcome at a future meeting representatives of Hibernia College, which meeting was requested by Senator Power, and schoolbag.ie to hear the views of practitioners in the discipline. Digital literacy is extremely important in terms of education. We talk about numeracy and literacy in general but digital literacy is part of all of that.

With us today from the Department of Education and Skills are Eddie Ward, Pádraig Mac Fhlannchadha and Anne O'Mahony; Jude Cosgrave from the Educational Research Centre; and Sean Gallagher, Professional Development Service for Teachers, PDST, Technology in Education.

I wish to draw the attention of witnesses to the fact that, by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they are to give to the committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. I advise the witnesses that their opening statements will be published on the committee's website after the meeting.

Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses. I invite Mr. Eddie Ward to make his opening remarks.