Mr. Peter Mullan:

I am grateful for the opportunity to engage with the joint committee on this issue. It makes little sense to speak about the use of technology in primary education in isolation from the wider issues that affect the system as a whole. While it is true to say the vast majority of principals and teachers are positively disposed towards the increased integration of modern technologies and are aware of the benefits that accrue in teaching and learning, in reality the use of such resources is uneven, haphazard, unstructured and down the list of priorities for many schools. This situation in schools directly reflects the approach taken by a succession of Governments in the past 20 years. This approach has been uneven, haphazard, unstructured and well down the list of priorities. As a consequence, there are a range of significant obstacles that directly impede the more widespread adoption and development of digital approaches. Further progress will continue to be curtailed until these issues have been addressed in a focused and strategic manner.

The obstacles include the following.

Primary education is grossly underfunded. Capitation grants to schools cover approximately 66% of operational costs such as utility bills and insurance. In practice, the balance is, directly or indirectly, met by the parent body. For many schools that serve communities with disadvantaged status, bridging this gap between essential expenditure and income is particularly difficult.

School boards and principals cannot plan effectively for the provision, expansion and maintenance of digital resources. Even though the Department of Education and Skills continually emphasises the centrality of planning as a fundamental tenet of sound education practice, the absence of strategic funding for schools for technology makes planning impossible.

The moratorium on promotion means that middle management structures in many schools have been largely dismantled, leaving many schools with no ICT co-ordinator to lead the integration of modern technologies in teaching and learning in school. The broadband capacity of the vast majority of primary schools is grossly inadequate. When compared to the broadband infrastructure at second level and in primary schools in EU countries generally, Irish primary schools are significantly disadvantaged in harnessing the power of the Internet to enhance teaching and learning. Fast, reliable broadband is essential if schools are to access learning resources online, yet the sad reality is that most schools have significantly less broadband capability than the typical domestic residence.

Class size in Ireland is also a barrier to the effective integration of ICT at primary level. Three quarters of pupils are in classes above the EU average, while one fifth are in class groups of more than 30, which makes modern teaching methods and the provision of individual attention almost impossible to sustain.

Significant improvements are required in all of the areas mentioned if a successful policy is to be implemented.

I will now hand over to my colleague, Mr. O'Leary.