Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Taoiseach about future planning for the use of technology in post-primary schools. The Taoiseach may not be familiar with the independent review group in Ratoath College in County Meath, which is shining a light on the problems emerging with a policy that has no uniformity and no structure across the board to deal with technology and the provision of iPads and other digital equipment for students. The independent review group's report shows that in this situation the question of digital poverty and device inequality looms large. There are many cases where parents and teachers struggle to pay for devices for post-primary children need in order to learn. If we want to move to a system that is now commonplace throughout Europe we need some uniformity across the education structure. Whether it is access to the Internet inside or outside school is a separate debate. What type of technology we use is also a separate debate. The point is whether the Department is about to fund the provision of technological devices for post-primary schools so that no child is left behind and everybody is treated the same. The report looks at the school prior to Covid and during Covid. It shines a light on the problems and, of course, these problems intensified during the pandemic and lockdown. Will the Taoiseach comment on this? Would he care to highlight the glaring gap in poverty, digital poverty and digital inequality that exists throughout secondary education?

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