Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht a cheiste. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis as a bheith tofa. Guím ádh mór air sa ról úr atá aige. Is dualgas agus onóir mhór é a bheith tofa mar Theachta Dála.

I want to take the Deputy back to his first point around the €750 billion fund. We are now working in that world of billions. One of the things I believe is central to any deliberation around funding and that collective response from Europe is to ensure that, at its heart, is how we tackle educational disadvantage and how we ensure that the most vulnerable are protected. When I think back to the last recession, I think of all the young Donegal people who had to leave and go to Australia, Canada and the United States. In that recession, I could see on my own doorstep that they were the hardest hit. We only had to look at the rest of the country, as well as at countries like Italy and Spain, to see that massive negative impact on the younger generation. I believe any conversation around funding streams has to look at what we can do to empower young people, while obviously focusing on the skill level and how we ensure that education continues and that there are jobs at the end of that education.

As to my contribution, at a recent round of ministerial meetings at European Commission level, I discussed with all of my counterparts the issues of Covid, school reopening, third level and all the challenges that go with that. My point was to ensure that, whatever funding and support Europe can give, we put education at the heart of it.

That brings me to the last question on funding. My proposition and that of my Department is to continue those conversations with my European counterparts. We are due to meet again towards the end of June, in some two weeks time.

The Deputy also talked about the digital agenda being to the forefront. The German minister very clearly outlined that the upcoming German Presidency is going to have a very sharp focus on the digital agenda, not just in terms of education but also the world of work. One thing has been quite clear in the last three months. At the tertiary level, universities were very quick to adapt, to continue with online lecturing and to do their exams online. Post-primary was quite well-equipped in terms of having the experience of Google Classroom and had already started using the investment available, given we invest a considerable amount of money every year - more than €60 million at this stage - in digital support for schools.

On the primary school system, the information coming back from our inspectorate indicates really creative and innovative ways to use technology but that, whether it is a generational thing or for different reasons, online teaching was not as interactive compared to a post-primary setting. There are very valid reasons for this such as gaps around broadband and other obstacles. One of the clear indicators coming from the teaching profession is that while digital communication technology filled some gaps, it is not the solution. We want and need to continue to ensure that our students are in a classroom setting but digital communication and new technology can add value to that process and can simplify some things. One of the simple learnings from teachers during this period was that they did not have to photocopy. Consider the amount of money that goes into photocopying. The expectation, however, was put onto some parents to copy, especially at primary school level, and I can attest to that. There were some massive learnings and one of the great insights into it, from parents and teachers, is that a house with home schooling is a very tense environment at times. Parents are trying to mix work and home schooling at the same time and it is a very stressed environment. We need to get our students back into the classroom and it is my ambition to continue to work closely with health officials to ensure we are provided with a roadmap so at the end of August and the beginning of September we have a maximum number of students back in primary and second level classrooms. I am interested to stay in touch with Deputy Leddin on his specific suggestions on where this fund could be used in education. I am very open to that.

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