Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue. I am raising the issue of the cost many parents are faced with for digital devices like iPads, tablets and laptops when schools move to a one-to-one digital device policy. It is happening quite a lot and comes at very significant cost to families, many of which have multiple students at school. Devices can cost anything up to €800. At a time when many families were expecting to have the cost of school books taken off them the exact opposite is happening. I have a number of examples of where students entering fifth year are faced with a new policy that demands a device costing €800 for their schoolwork.

This question has been asked repeatedly, including by me, and a lot of the written responses point towards Government investment in ICT in schools generally. They point towards the role of the board of management in developing digital learning policies, whether these devices are introduced or not, how the ICT funding is used and the need for consultation before any change in policy is introduced. They also point to a circular issued in 2017 that does not deal with the issue at all and is about measures schools should adopt in relation to uniforms and other costs.

The real issue here is there are families who cannot afford this. They just cannot bear this cost. They can be part of a consultation. This is just the practicalities of it. They might not agree with the policy but they will have to go along with it or else their child will be left behind. We then have a scenario of children being left behind, excluded or isolated or families being pushed into financial hardship. The suggestion from the Government in the responses I have seen so far is that schools can use the ICT funding to develop a scheme to support families, but the funding is not there to do that. What happens in practical terms is schools look for full payment.

They point people towards services like Humm or the local credit union to try to facilitate them. Without a shadow of a doubt, because of these policy changes in individual schools, and I recognise schools have autonomy to a significant degree in relation to these decisions, families are being left in a position where there is no support net at all. They are left completely exposed.

I see nothing in the responses I have received thus far that recognises that fact. I am interested to hear the Minister of State's response today. I hope he indicates there will be some action on this issue.

See this speech in context