Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 755: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will introduce a curriculum for information technology studies for junior or leaving certificate to reflect how central these subjects are to students and working life today; the amount spent on the IT equipment in secondary schools every year for the past five years; if all schools have access to broadband; and if he will make a statement on the role of IT within education here. [27424/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The curriculum in schools is devised on the basis that ICT is not a subject but rather a tool to be integrated into the teaching and learning of all subjects. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has developed an ICT framework which sets out a structured approach to ICT in curriculum and assessment. This sets out the types of learning appropriate for students during the period of compulsory education, and provides a guide to teachers for embedding ICT across the curriculum. It will be supported by a website which will provide exemplars of teaching and learning in different settings, and show the classroom application of learning outcomes and demonstrations in the ICT framework. The overall implementation of ICT in schools is supported by the National Centre for Technology in Education which provides for extensive training and guidance for schools on the integration of ICT into teaching and learning.

The information sought by the Deputy regarding the amount spent on IT equipment in secondary schools is not readily available. The latest Census on ICT Infrastructure in Schools undertaken by the NCTE in 2005 asked schools to report on the amount spent on ICT, in addition to any specific grants received from my Department. The report found that the average annual expenditure per post-primary school of those schools that responded was €11,583.

My Department's building unit provides ICT equipment budgets to all major post-primary school building projects. Grants have also been provided to some 500 post-primary schools to upgrade their facilities to enable them to provide the new Technology syllabus and the revised Design and Communication Graphics syllabus at Leaving Certificate level, with effect from September 2007. Disadvantaged schools are also benefiting from the small scale ICT Grant scheme for Schools participating in the School Support Programme under DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) from the Dormant Accounts (Educational Disadvantage) Fund.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department also has a specific ICT in Schools Programme which promotes the integration of ICT into teaching and learning in our schools. Since its introduction in 1998, almost €200m has been invested in the Programme. The two recent investment priorities under the Programme have been the provision of networking grants to schools and the Schools Broadband Access Programme. Schools were invited to submit proposals for the development of their networking capability in June 2004 and grants in excess of €23m have since issued to schools. Some €9m of this investment has issued to 660 post-primary schools, giving an average grant in the region of €13,000.

The roll-out of broadband connectivity to all recognised schools is being undertaken in partnership with industry, in the context of the joint Government/IBEC — TIF (Telecommunications and Internet Federation) three year Agreement to fund local connectivity at school level. The broadband connectivity is being provided via a Schools National Broadband Network supported by HEAnet, in order to provide managed Internet access, email, security controls and content filtering. A broadband support service is being managed by the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) to assist schools with advice and information relating to the roll-out and ongoing use of their broadband connectivity within the schools network. The overall costs of the Schools Broadband Access Programme, including the initial set-up and ongoing costs over the three years, are in the region of €30m. To date, 3,901 schools have had their local connectivity installed and of these 3,899 have had their router capability installed and tested. A further 72 schools have had broadband access provided under the Hermes and Advanced Deployment programmes and are not included in the 3,901 figure.

Looking to the future, my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has launched the Next Generation Broadband Policy Paper which includes the objective of equipping second-level schools with 100 Mbits per second of broadband connectivity and installing local area networks. I look forward to working with my colleague, Minister Ryan, in the pursuit of this objective. Furthermore, my Department will shortly issue a Request for Tenders for the next round of service under the existing Schools Broadband Programme and having regard to the general developments in broadband availability nationally, improved service offerings are expected to be received under the new tender process.

While the ICT facilities in our schools have improved considerably, I am conscious of the need for further investment to ensure that we are realising the full potential of ICT to improve the learning experience of our students. The Programme for Government sets out our commitment to implementing a comprehensive Schools' ICT Strategy, which will be underpinned by the investment of €252m as provided for in the National Development Plan 2007-2013. The Deputy will be aware that my predecessor appointed a strategy group to advise on the priorities for expenditure on information and communications technology in schools, having regard to the provision in the National Development Plan for the investment of €252m in the ICT in Schools Programme. I intend to publish the group's report very shortly.