Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

My Department is progressing work to improve systems within the Department to facilitate access to accurate and up-to-date information on individual schools to ensure more efficient use of official time and to reduce the administrative burden on schools.

The Department began the process of rationalising internal databases several years ago. The aim is to have one central data holding for core information on schools, teachers and pupils. It is intended that all new and existing systems will eventually pull information from this centralised database. In 2007, the first element of the new central database was introduced and involved the rationalisation and standardisation of certain core information about schools. The benefits of this approach are clear and mean that by keeping only one primary source of school information all staff in the Department have immediate access to the same accurate information.

While this work was being progressed, priority also had to be given to developing an on-line claims system for schools, OLCS. The OLCS is now being used in 3,800 schools around the country and has created significant administrative efficiencies for the Department and individual schools. Other developments include the introduction of Geographic Information technology which has greatly improved the capacity of the Department to identify the location and quantity of new school accommodation needed to cater for population increases.

Like any organisation, the level of progress will depend on available financial, human and IT resources and how they will need to be deployed given emerging priorities and wider public finance constraints. With regard to implementation of the Cromien report, a programme of structural reform of the Department was approved by Government in 2001. The main elements of this programme were the establishment of the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Special Education, the establishment of regional offices and the transfer of the institutes of technology to the Higher Education Authority.

In addition to the reforms approved by Government, the reform of the Department included regulatory reform and appellate processes to underpin key allocation functions, along with the implementation of efficiency measures designed to bring the Department's procedures and processes more into line with modern administrative practice. A range of measures have been introduced since 2001.

Other recommendations are in course of implementation and some recommendations are not being implemented at the current time or have been overtaken by events.

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