Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the state of the informational communications technology hardware in primary and post-primary schools; her plans to introduce ICT as a subject at second level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40511/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is determined to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve computer literacy and to acquire the necessary skills for participation in the information society. To this end, we have put in place significant investment and new initiatives to increase the number of computers in our schools, to provide a range of ICT training options for teachers, to improve the availability of online resources and to ensure that all schools have broadband access.

Between 1998 and 2005, more than €170 million was invested in the schools ICT programme, including €114 million in capital supports. This helped to improve the number of computers in our schools, a fact reflected in the 2005 census of ICT infrastructure in schools published recently by the National Centre for Technology in Education. The census was conducted during the first half of 2005, and is the fourth in a series that began in 1998. The 2005 census shows improved pupil to computer ratios at both primary and second level. At primary level, there was one computer for every nine children in 2005 compared with one for 11 in 2002. At second level there was one computer for every seven students in 2005. In special schools, the census found a pupil-computer ratio of 3:1.

As the Deputy will be aware, the major focus for investment over the past two years has been on developing computer networks in schools and ensuring schools have broadband access. The census was carried out at a point when schools were beginning to fully avail of this funding. The schools broadband access programme comprises three elements, local connectivity to schools, a national broadband network and a national service desk at a cost of approximately €30 million. As of 14 November last, 96% of schools have local broadband connectivity, including the installation of a broadband router. The remaining schools are predominately those that currently have a building project under way and broadband installation will be carried out in tandem with completion of the building works. A small number of schools elected to continue with their existing broadband provision.

A lot of extra investment has been provided for the schools ICT programme in recent years. We have also ensured that extra investment in infrastructure has been complemented by an increased focus on teacher training. The National Council for Technology in Education has provided 10,000 training places annually in recent years to meet the specific needs of teachers in their use of ICT, including technical courses, subject specific courses, and Internet, web design and digital media courses.

While the ICT facilities in our schools have improved considerably, I am conscious of the need for further investment to ensure that we are realising the full potential of ICT to improve the learning experience for our young people. To that end, I intend to publish a comprehensive new ICT strategy in 2007 covering the period of the new national development plan to 2013. A critical challenge under this new strategy will be to develop an e-learning culture in schools with a central objective of embedding the use of ICT in teaching and learning across the curriculum rather than a focus on treating ICT as a separate subject.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the fact that the Minister is to introduce an ICT strategy from 2007; it is crucial that we have one. I have been critical of the fact that we did not have one since the end of 2002. Both the Minister and I have read the report and can therefore choose different sets of statistics. Arising from the report of the National Council for Technology in Education, I am concerned that 10,000 computers in primary schools are in need of upgrade or repair and 5,000 are beyond repair or use. Therefore, one in four computers in primary schools does not work, while one in five does not work at second level. Some 29% of primary school computers are more than six years old and the Minister will know how quickly computers are evolving.

I welcome the fact that 96% of schools now have broadband access. However, the broadband connections are already going out of date. It is difficult to deal with, but higher speed access is always required to meet the rapid changes in technology. The type of broadband available in many of our schools does not have the capacity to download certain files from the Internet and to access certain websites.

How does the Minister intend to deal with those problems? How will she ensure that all computer hardware in primary schools is functioning? Does the Minister have any intention of providing a service to allow equipment to be upgraded? Providing maintenance locally would probably be the better idea, but what type of maintenance does she propose to ensure school computers are usable and neither sitting in boxes nor beyond use?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It is unfortunate that computers go out of date so quickly. Despite considerable investment in hardware in recent years, it can be difficult to keep it up to date. Our priority in the past couple of years had to be on networking and broadband — there was not much point in schools having computers if they did not have this connectivity. The existing broadband access is perfectly adequate for the type of work that schools are doing. For the most part, they are not downloading files and much of the work involves using particular software for educational purposes. I have seen this in use in schools.

While we will introduce a new programme in the NDP, industry also has a major role to play. Industry is constantly asking for more computers to be installed in schools. Industry, as well as computer manufacturers, benefits most from such investment. Whereas industry played a part in the broadband roll-out, there is an opportunity for it to get involved in investing in school hardware. If a child is using a particular model in school, he or she will want to use the same model at home. This could complement what we are trying to do in the schools.

The census asked questions about technical support and it found that 68% of primary schools and 55% of post-primary schools use the services of IT contractors without fixed contracts, while others had fixed contracts. Of course, there is also ICT co-ordinating teachers within education centres and they play an important role in providing technical support. If one's computer does not work, one is able to call someone to have it fixed and it is important that a school should have that facility as well. This is one of the issues I am examining in the overall strategy.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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It is all very well to say that industry has a responsibility, but the Deputy is Minister for Education and Science and the ultimate responsibility for what happens in schools lies at her door. I would welcome more industry involvement in the provision of equipment, but until it wakes up and decides to do that, we must ensure that students are getting the ICT facilities they need in the classroom.

Will the Minister reconsider the idea of having ICT as a distinctive subject? If we are to build a knowledge economy, it is vital that students have the necessary skills. Has the Minister had any discussions with industry about getting more involved in this area? She should bear in mind that it is the country, not just industry, which benefits from industry being successful. We have a changing economy which must be knowledge-led and driven. If this is to happen, it must start in schools and responsibility for it lies not with industry but with the Minister.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The integration of ICT into schools is what is crucial rather than segregating it into a subject which inevitably in the case of the leaving certificate would become a choice subject. What is even more important is that teachers integrate it into their teaching and students into their learning. There is some good software now but it is more important that teachers have the training to be able to use it in a curricular sense rather than have a separate subject.

Increasingly, we see ICT coming into the main curriculum subjects. For example, the new technology subject involves computer-aided design. That new subject will be examined for the first time in 2009 as it will be introduced in schools in 2007. Here we have an integration of the technology into a subject. We also see students using it in other subjects. Film, for example, which is part of the Gaeilge course for the leaving certificate, uses computer technology as well.

In recent months, the digital school awards, under the NCTE, have encouraged schools to be more innovative in the way in which they use the technology. I presented some of the awards in the schools and it is fascinating to see how they are integrating it into the wider school curriculum. I would like to see that cross-curricular culture of comfort of learning and of teaching being used in all the schools rather than segregating it as a separate subject.