Averil Power (Fianna Fail)
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I have tabled this matter to highlight the need for a proper digital ICT strategy for schools. When will the Government ensure that all primary schools are connected to high-speed broadband? When will the Government ensure that all schools, both primary and post-primary, have access to the equipment they need, curriculum relevant content and training for teachers?
I welcome the fact that high-speed broadband has been rolled out to our second level schools which are now getting speeds of up to 100 MB, which is the speed they need to integrate ICT properly in the classroom, use video content and upload and download things from the cloud. Unfortunately, we have a huge digital divide between primary and second level. While second level schools have high-speed broadband, the Department's own figures for primary schools show that they have an average speed of up to 5 MB per second, which is incredibly slow. Some schools have considerably slower speeds than that.
There was an article in this month's INTO magazine In Touch, in which a principal was quoted as saying he has 0.74 MB and that the connection was faster when he had dial-up. Such slow speeds create huge problems for teachers. It means that when they are putting together videos and planning presentations to their classes, they are not sure if they will be able to show those properly. In Touchcites scenarios where teachers get classes to sit down to watch a three or four minute video clip, but while the first minute plays, they are then sitting around watching a timer on screen trying to load the rest of it. They could be watching that for three or four minutes before the video kicks back in. Teachers are also concerned about having to bring things in on USB sticks as they are not sure they will be able to get access to broadband when they need it. It could be down. It is all extremely frustrating. Principals have also said they are supposed to make online returns to the Department and some are having to do that at home. They are having to make their OLSC entries at home to ensure that their staff are paid on time. There is a major difficulty there in terms of broadband speed for primary schools.
I understand that work is under way in the Department on a new digital strategy for schools. The reason I tabled this matter was to draw the Department's attention to the huge deficit at primary level and to ensure it is addressed as part of the new strategy. I hope the Minister of State can provide me with an update on the Department's thinking in that regard, the speeds it is expected will be provided to primary schools and when they can expect to have proper connectivity. There is also a need to ensure that schools have access to curriculum appropriate content. While there is a great deal available on the Internet, much of it is American or from other countries. We need to provide teachers with access to age-appropriate screen content which is tied into our own curriculum. That is a huge issue.
Equipment is also an issue. Some schools have fantastic suites of equipment, perhaps on foot of partnerships with local businesses and IT companies or sponsorship or through fund-raising from parents in the absence of sufficient State funding. There are significant gaps among schools in terms of the type of equipment they have and the gaps need to be closed. Training is also required to ensure that all teachers receive adequate training, not just those who might opt in to in-service or out-of-hours training. The people who are most likely to do that are probably already ICT savvy or at least interested in using it. We must ensure that all existing teachers in the system are brought up to speed and know how to integrate ICT into teaching, learning, assessment and all the other strands of our education system. We must also ensure that at the pre-service level we equip new teachers with the highest level of ICT competency.
There are various issues involved. Many teachers across primary and second level have embraced ICT far beyond the limits of the State under-investment and there is a need to step up. I was in a second level school in Kildare the other day where the principal raised with me the issue that because of the suppression of A posts within schools, the only way he could get an ICT co-ordinator was to expect someone to do it out of the goodness of his or her heart. If we want people to co-ordinate ICT within schools, we must consider having specific ICT posts. I ask the Minister of State to update me on that wide range of issues, the status of the digital schools strategy and whether it will address these issues.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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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.

Averil Power (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but wish to stress that this strategy should be published as a matter of urgency.

I have one final issue, namely, the price of e-books, that he might take up with the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. It is bizarre that an e-book costs more than the paper book, even though the latter has to be printed, distributed and sold in shops, while an e-book can be purchased online. I have raised this point previously with the Minister at the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, but the general response is that European law covers it and we did not get an exemption for e-books. Obviously, e-books had not been conceived when the EU legislation was enacted, but it does not appear the Government is doing anything to change that. If we are unhappy with the EU legislation we should be pushing for an updated directive. I ask the Minister of State to raise that matter with the Minister. It is a big issue because it is prohibitively expensive for students to use tablets with e-books, rather than carrying around heavy schoolbags.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Senator Power and it is something we have to make progress on. Having spoken to the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, about this, I know that she wants to make inroads concerning this matter. It does not add up and is not right. We know what the cause is so we have to work on it. Hopefully we will see some changes in that regard.

I thank the Senator for raising these issues and will discuss them with the Minister because they are very important. My own responsibilities cover enterprise as well as education, but we have to get this strategy right. We must push these subjects, including technology, engineering and mathematics. The online supports for all those courses are essential also, so access to broadband and online services both for teachers and pupils is essential.

Our business strategy focuses on the use of such information. It is so easy to gather data now, but we must teach pupils how to use it individually and through team work. We have to increase access to equipment but we must also teach students how to handle such knowledge.

Students must have respect for each other when using IT facilities, including Facebook and other social media. That is the biggest issue in all the schools I have visited and I am sure it is the same for Senators. Pupils say that their biggest concern is what goes on via social media. That is a part of the strategy that we must get right.