Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are different types of grants that can be provided. There were grants previously for STEM, digital clusters, etc. Specifically on STEM grants, there was a phenomenal uptake. Some €1.5 million was made available. That was announced at the time as part of the application process. The overall cost of the grants would have amounted to €25 million had all applications been accepted. Final funding amounting to €4.7 million was made available. It is a huge testament to schools that there was such an uptake in respect of this. We will be looking at rolling out other funding streams. We will continuously review how it was done and different ways of doing it in the future. I am committed to that.

I must also say that we have a digital strategy for our schools, which goes right up to 2027. That includes more than €200 million, which has been made available to schools. Significant funding was previously made available in different tranches. I am aware of the work being done in our schools, but this is an area that we want to invest in. We want to put the maximum amount of money into it. It is an area that we will do all that we can to prioritise. There are many competing demands across the education sector, but schools are doing a huge amount of work in this field. I appreciate what that school said to the Deputy. It is our hope and aspiration to have another opportunity to roll out another type of grant and we will consistently keep under review how those grants are issued.