Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá maidir le ríomhairí sna scoileanna, agus an ghéarghá atá le infheistíocht i leith ríomhairí. Is minic a bhíonn muid ag caint faoi cé chomh tábhachtach do chúrsaí eacnamíochta na tíre an saigheas infheistíocht seo i gcomhthéacs an méad atá ag tarlúint i tíortha eile. Caithfimid tosnú leis na scoileanna agus an béim a chur ar chúrsaí teicneolaíochta sna scoileanna. Is léir nach bhfuil aon plan cheart againn don todhchaí.

It is very worrying that a private, confidential report commissioned by the Minister for Education and Science states that the Government's €252 million plan for computers in schools is insufficient but it is something we all know. According to the joint managerial body, there is on average one computer for ten children in our schools. To reach the OECD average we need to have one for every five. That would require trebling the current spend of €46 per student per year. It is important we start in our schools and provide the necessary equipment and technological know-how if we are serious about competitiveness. It is not enough to trust that many students will have computers at home and that somehow they will have the technological know-how. It will be a shambles if our education system falls behind. According to that report we fall well behind the EU average on information and communications technology in schools. Elsewhere it states that we have one of the lowest rates of information and communications technology usage in education in the developed world. This is in a country that prides itself on its education system and planning for the future.

There has been great success, with institutes of technology a major factor in our competitiveness and our ability to attract investment by providing highly skilled people in the workplace. We must redouble our efforts for the future and it seems that proper computer facilities in our schools would be a basic part of such a plan.

Fianna Fáil in Government has a great record in asserting republican values at certain times internationally. One thinks of Frank Aiken and the courageous stand he took when it came to admitting China to the United Nations. It is regrettable that we seem to be losing some of those values. I wonder whether we can have a truly independent political stance in a globalised world. I accept there are economic pressures and that we must keep good relations with countries such as China as much as possible. None the less, it is tragic that it was left to our Minister for Foreign Affairs to instruct officials at home to make the point about Tibet, while a Minister of State was taking part in St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Beijing. We are losing our moral voice internationally if we cannot assert our core principles in support of the dignity of the person.

I worry about whether we are trading republican values for purely commercial and economic values. How can we have confidence when we are reassured that the Government is ensuring at European level that our values will not be interfered with if the same Ministers of State do not take a stand in China on issues that are obvious to all reasonable people?