Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am committed to the development of an individualised records system for primary level as soon as practical since it will give us vital information on pupils in our primary schools as well as enable us to better track children's progress from primary to post-primary level. The development of such a database is a complex and resource demanding task involving a number of agencies external to my Department, as well as a range of data needs which are changing over time in light of administrative and policy developments.

The database project is linked to the development of an online claims system for schools for the processing of salary claims which is nearing full completion. In light of the desirability of linking data at primary, post-primary and further education, it has been decided to proceed with a short feasibility study on the implementation of a learner database to link these levels either through separate databases for each level or in one single database serving all levels.

The study will assess the costs and benefits of developing a learner database that would encompass both the primary and post-primary system and scope out the availability of data in various agencies as well as sections in my Department, the priority needs as determined by policy and administrative priorities and the options for best matching needs with availability of data through a comprehensive data system.

At this point it is impossible to place a value on the likely cost of the different options likely to emerge from this study. However, consideration will be given to the human, financial and organisational implications of implementing a new database as well as the best approach to linking data in a way that underpins policy needs.

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