Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his proposals to create a database or central records office within his Department which will enable officials to access information on every school here in a format that is readily accessible and retrievable so that valuable man hours within his Department will not be misspent on data collection; if he has satisfied himself that he and his senior management officials in particular, have implemented in full the 98 recommendations of the Cromien Report, published in October 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26955/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is progressing work to improve systems within the Department to facilitate access to accurate and up-to-date information on individual schools to ensure more efficient use of official time and to reduce the administrative burden on schools.

The Department began the process of rationalising internal databases several years ago. The aim is to have one central data holding for core information on schools, teachers and pupils. It is intended that all new and existing systems will eventually pull information from this centralised database. In 2007, the first element of the new central database was introduced and involved the rationalisation and standardisation of certain core information about schools. The benefits of this approach are clear and mean that by keeping only one primary source of school information all staff in the Department have immediate access to the same accurate information.

While this work was being progressed, priority also had to be given to developing an on-line claims system for schools, OLCS. The OLCS is now being used in 3,800 schools around the country and has created significant administrative efficiencies for the Department and individual schools. Other developments include the introduction of Geographic Information technology which has greatly improved the capacity of the Department to identify the location and quantity of new school accommodation needed to cater for population increases.

Like any organisation, the level of progress will depend on available financial, human and IT resources and how they will need to be deployed given emerging priorities and wider public finance constraints. With regard to implementation of the Cromien report, a programme of structural reform of the Department was approved by Government in 2001. The main elements of this programme were the establishment of the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Special Education, the establishment of regional offices and the transfer of the institutes of technology to the Higher Education Authority.

In addition to the reforms approved by Government, the reform of the Department included regulatory reform and appellate processes to underpin key allocation functions, along with the implementation of efficiency measures designed to bring the Department's procedures and processes more into line with modern administrative practice. A range of measures have been introduced since 2001.

Other recommendations are in course of implementation and some recommendations are not being implemented at the current time or have been overtaken by events.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Would the Minister regard his Department as being currently fit for purpose and that it is a 21st century administrative body similar to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Foreign Affairs or any other Department?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, obviously I would.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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What evidence does the Minister have for that?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I have every evidence in that I have been working in this Department for more than 12 months. I find that the staff are an extremely committed, capable, hard working group whose sole interest is to ensure the top quality running and operation of the Department of Education and Science.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Would the Minister be surprised if the ESB, Coillte, Bord na Móna or the Department of Foreign Affairs could not readily and at the press of a button find out where their embassies were located, where their forests were, what the potential acreage was, the capacity of generation, building conditions, who owned the land, whether freehold or leasehold, the regular inventory of stock that a good publican, say, or good operator would know about at any time? Such data would be contained in electronic format such as that carried by most kids on their mobiles, as a standard instrument.

Can he explain why, at this time, after the recommendations of the Cromien report his Department has not got any of that?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I can only respond to the Deputy to the effect that any of the information or tabulations he has required have been presented to him. I can think back to the projection on enrolments 2008-30, the details on pre-fab locations in primary schools and details on primary schools in the ownership of the Minister for Education and Science.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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That is a very good question, as regards the details-----

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has asked me a question and I should like to be allowed the opportunity to reply to it.

Deputy Quinn is a former Minister for Finance, a very responsible position and I have always said he did an excellent job. At that time, as a Deputy who served in Government with him, I recall Deputy Quinn asking various Departments to prioritise. In this instance, looking back on the Cromien report, can Deputy Quinn say that the decision to set up the examination commission was a bad one? Can he not say that the position we took by setting up and putting in place the special education commission was a good one? Does he believe that all of the important outstanding items mentioned by Cromien have been put in place? The Deputy has a difficulty with one issue.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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No, I have not. There were 98 recommendations in Cromien in 2000. How many have been implemented? What is the number?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot-----

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I rest my case.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have that information at my fingertips but it is readily available in the Department.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is not. I have asked the question before. The Minister has no clue.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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On the Cromien report and the information Deputy Quinn seeks on the ownership of schools, my Department undertook a pilot in Kildare. It cost €1 million to implement.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Minister is worse than I thought he was. It is like the voting machines - a sum of €1 million.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Department decided it was far more appropriate and in line with what Deputy Quinn said as Minister for Finance to strategically put that money into front line education services. That is what the Department did and rightly so, and we stand over it.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Minister is even more incompetent than I thought.