Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

Given the chronic level of funding for technology in our schools, the fact that most schools must depend on Tesco vouchers to obtain additional PCs and that in Northern Ireland an interactive whiteboard is standard, which is not the case in this jurisdiction, will the Minister recognise that the proposal I have set out is sensible not only from a cost, but an environmental perspective and also in terms of encouraging greater interconnectivity within our secondary school system?

Is the Minister aware of a recent project introduced under the connect programme in south Dublin in my area, in respect of which a school has been given laptop facilities, which is showing a phenomenal success rate in terms of fostering interest in school and efficiency in terms of the way time is used between pupils and teachers? Will she give this proposal a more considered view as I believe the costs it would involve as she outlined in her reply are exaggerated? If we were to move towards the introduction of such a project over a period, it would be cost efficient as opposed to the amounts of money she mentioned in her reply.

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