Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

As a former Minister for Education and Science, I am delighted to respond to this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it provides us with an opportunity to outline the Department's commitment to the ICT in schools programme.

The Minister agrees that ICT skills are increasingly critical for full participation in our social, cultural, recreational and working lives. ICT has been identified as a core component of the knowledge society and is recognised as a key tool for the improvement of teaching and learning. Where ICT is used innovatively and integrated into the curriculum, the learning experience can be more enriching, collaborative and personally gainful.

ICT enables teachers to bring lessons to life in new ways, to motivate learners and to find new ways of reaching students with special educational needs. The Department's policy on ICT in schools seeks to promote the integration of ICT in teaching and learning across the curriculum and the acquisition of ICT skills by students to enable them to participate in the knowledge society.

Since the Department's ICT in schools programme commenced in 1998, almost €209 million was invested in the programme up to the end of 2008, comprising €121 million capital investment and €88 million current investment. The programme has addressed four broad areas, the provision of essential ICT infrastructural networking within schools, the provision of access to broadband connectivity to schools, up-skilling teachers' ICT skills and integrating ICT within the curriculum and providing curriculum relevant digital content and software.

In addition to the capital funding provided by the ICT in schools programme, additional funding for ICT is provided through the Department's school building programme. While new post-primary school buildings projects have included ICT equipment budgets for some time, similar arrangements were introduced at primary level last year. In 2008, equipment grants of €2.3 million were provided to new post-primary school building projects while €2.2 million was provided to 72 primary schools where a newly constructed school or large scale extension reached practical completion.

Last Monday, the Minister announced grants of €4.2 million in respect of 383 primary schools where construction work was completed in 2008 and 2009. The grants are based on an amount of €5,000 in respect of each occupied permanent classroom built in 2008 and 2009 and will enable the school to buy computer hardware, software and digital equipment. In addition, the grant scheme for minor works to national school properties includes ICT equipment within the range of approved school expenditure.

Disadvantaged schools have benefited from the €3.4 million ITC grant scheme for delivering equality of opportunity for schools, DEIS, from the Dormant Accounts (Educational Disadvantage) Fund. A further €1.5 million fund is being supported from the Dormant Account Fund to assist up to 100 DEIS schools achieve digital schools status.

The ICT strategy group report, Investing Effectively in ICT in Schools, which was published in July 2008 provides a clear direction to inform actions to further the integration of ICT into teaching and learning in our schools. The framework for sustainable economic renewal, building Ireland's smart economy, reiterates Government policy to enhance the role of ICT in the educational system, working in partnership with industry, to invest further in the provision of equipment and connectivity.

Earlier this year, the Minister set up the joint advisory group, comprising members of ICT Ireland, the Telecommunications and Internet Federation, the Irish Software Association, the Department of Education and Science and the National Centre for Technology in Education, to explore how best to do this having regard to the recommendations set out in the strategy group report. The main recommendations of the report focus on the provision of up-to-date ICT equipment and digital content in all schools, access to an appropriately specified, cost-efficient broadband service to all learning areas within the school, and a functional and dependable ICT infrastructure with access to appropriate technical support and maintenance to sustain this quality of service.

This joint advisory group which commenced its work last March signifies a strong partnership between industry and the education sector, with the shared objective of supporting children's developmental potential by enhancing the role of ICT in the educational system. The group's report is being finalised and the Minister will consider its recommendations in the context of existing policy and funding.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and assure him that the Department is committed to the objectives of the smart economy whereby use of ICT in schools will be enhanced through working in partnership with industry to invest in ICT equipment and connectivity.

See this speech in context