Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I convey the apologies of my senior Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, who could not make it here. We appreciate that quality Internet connectivity is essential for good teaching and learning using ICT. While great progress has been made at post-primary level where every school will shortly have a high-speed connection, I am aware that improvement at primary level is slower and is dependent on market and technological developments. As the Senator points out, it can be very frustrating when a teacher is trying to teach a class and keep the pupils with him or her. Young people now expect the service to be top notch. I even see in my own house that when Sky goes, a child of three years of age will ask where the Sky man is. Likewise when it comes to broadband, young people expect a high level of service, which they deserve. Certainly, it is something we must aim at, not just in educational facilities but across the board.
Broadband is a very important issue in all our communities. Be it a rural or urban area, the availability of broadband is key. The first thing a teenager asks when one wants to bring him or her somewhere is about the speed of the connection there. That is where it is at and as a country, we must recognise it. We must have more conversations on the issue to provide for the years ahead. Many of the science and research facilities I deal with tell me that we are only at perhaps a tenth of where we will be in terms of information moving through the system. Apart from dealing with today's situation and looking ahead for a couple of years, we must think of the capacity we will need in the long term. This area is going to increase a great deal.
Under the schools broadband access programme, my Department provides for the supply of Internet connectivity for all recognised primary schools. A new framework involving more providers was put in place in 2012 which ensures improved solutions are available to schools on an ongoing basis. The professional development service for teachers leads the provision of continuing professional development, CPD, advice and information for teachers on the use of ICT in teaching and learning. The service is also involved in the annual delivery of approximately 12,000 ICT CPD places for teachers on Department-funded courses. Scoilnet.ieis the national education portal and is actively used by primary and post-primary teachers. In 2013, 1.66 million visits to the portal were recorded. This supports what Senator Power said and shows that teachers are genuinely interested and want to get up to speed. We have to facilitate them as best we can. I am amazed at the number of events I attend at weekends where teachers turn up in their free time with a willingness to get more involved in advances across ICT, maths, science and engineering. They are very interested in the core STEM subjects and must be commended for putting that effort in. We have to match that effort with resources and try to make the commitment to them.
This is all evidence of teacher interest in quality and up-to-date digital content that is relevant to the school curriculum. A great deal of good work is being done in the education centres to keep teachers on top of this. It will be very hard to stay ahead of some of the students when it comes to ICT developments. The Department's website has evolved to include the provision of free access to a wide variety of education content including, for example, Ordnance Survey Ireland mapping resources and the internationally recognised Encyclopaedia Britannica. The site further provides for the sharing of teacher-produced resources. Students have access to these resources also. Other support services and the national network of education centres also provide support for the use of ICT in teaching and learning in particular areas of interest and need.
The forthcoming digital strategy for schools, about which the Senator asked in her opening statement, will outline the future direction of policy in this area and address how ICT will support teaching, learning and assessment in our schools into the future.

Having the right infrastructure in terms of equipment, Internet connectivity, teacher training and availability of access to relevant digital content will be key to achieving effective use of digital technology in the classroom. Improved connectivity for primary schools will be a priority. In this regard, my Department will collaborate with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with a view to providing enhanced broadband services as quickly as possible.

As part of the implementation of the new strategy there will be an annual plan with clear objectives and a funding commitment in line with the national budgetary strategy. The strategy will build on the strong desire of teachers to meet the learning needs of primary students.

We have to be ambitious concerning the digital strategy. It is certainly something that I will be pushing with the Department, as will the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. We know all about the tight budgetary constraints and it will take us time to achieve what other countries have. Our strategy needs to set out where we have to go and where we should be. We should not be limited by current budgets; we should plan the strategy for what the ideal is and try to plan for it. There will be budgetary constraints and timing might not be as quick as we want, but we have to find new ways of doing that.

There is a greater role for industry to get involved in the business strategy for schools and I am engaging with industry to that end. Some schools are lucky enough to be located beside the right companies and will benefit greatly from that. We must find a way that will spread that effect right across the country, however, so that every school - no matter the address - has access to the same kind of material, services and talent to drive this agenda.

The business agenda and the accompanying strategy is a major part of education, so we have to get it right. I have no doubt that we will be discussing the matter again in this Chamber in the near future. I thank the Senator for raising this issue today.