Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 218: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the funding available for a school (details supplied) in County Dublin to purchase computers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10959/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The recent investment priorities under the ICT in schools programme have been the provision of networking grants to schools and the schools broadband access programme. In this context, the school concerned received networking grants of €17,000 and €1,797 in 2004 and 2006, respectively, and has had its broadband connectivity installed.

I am aware of the benefits that good use of ICT can bring to our children's education and I am conscious of the need for further investment to ensure we realise the full potential of ICT to improve the learning experience for our young people. To that end, I intend to publish a new ICT strategy in 2007 covering the period of the national development plan to 2013. The latter contains a provision of €252 million for ICT in schools, the essential purpose of which is to advance the embedding of an e-learning culture in teaching and learning in our schools.