Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps being taken by her Department to ensure that the targets set under the Lisbon strategy are achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12954/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The strategic goal set at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 is to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, by 2010. Education and training have a central role in achieving the Lisbon goal.

The Lisbon strategy is at the core of policy-making in my Department. The statement of strategy for my Department is informed by, and explicitly acknowledges, the importance of the Lisbon strategy. My Department has taken a range of policy initiatives and measures in recent years which contribute to developing the knowledge society and achieving the Lisbon goal.

Since the time constraint does not permit me to give a comprehensive list of all the steps taken, I will focus on a number of key areas. Excellent progress has been made in the area of recognition of qualifications. The establishment of the national qualifications framework represents a significant new departure in Irish education with the needs of the learner taking priority. The framework provides a unique opportunity to develop the awards system for education and training in an innovative and creative way, ensuring that Ireland is at the forefront of international developments in this area.

The expert group on future skills needs studies the supply and demand for skills in individual business/industrial sectors and occupations. There has been concrete progress in implementing the expert group's reports: for example, there have been substantial increases in third level and training course places to address supply shortages in the ICT and life sciences sectors in particular. Social cohesion is a significant dimension of the Lisbon strategy. My Department has put in place a range of measures aimed at promoting social inclusion ensuring that all of our young people leave the education system with a high quality education and related qualifications to support their full participation in society. The national anti-poverty strategy is coherent with the achievement of the Lisbon goal.

The lifelong learning dimension of the Lisbon strategy has been advanced by a range of initiatives such as the adult guidance initiative and programmes to promote adult literacy, as well as increased flexibility of education provision which addresses access barriers. Significant progress has also been made in the curriculum at both first and second level in improving ICT access and in science and technology. Over €130 million has been invested in ICT in primary and secondary schools since 2000.

At third level, the Government has also made a strategic decision to invest heavily in research and development as a key means of assuring future economic and social development. Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, major public investment is being made in research and development. This investment is creating new centres and research programmes through the higher education sector, providing valuable new labour market skills through the development of researchers and providing opportunities for academic-industry research collaborations.

Another important element in achieving the Lisbon goals is the Europass initiative. Europass is a new Europe wide instrument for better recognition of qualifications and skills in the enlarged Europe. It provides for a single framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences. The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland is working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Irish people can avail of Europass at the earliest opportunity.

In the context of the Lisbon strategy, the European Commission has been monitoring progress on a number of benchmarks for education and training. Ireland's comparative performance in a number of areas is particularly good: for example, we are among the best performing countries in the number of mathematics, science and technology graduates and in the reading ability of pupils at age 15 years.