Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 505: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason the schools e-mail project (details supplied) has not been rolled out beyond pilot stage to all schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37002/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 506: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the consultation or input that was sought from the teaching profession and other educational partners in developing the schools e-mail project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37003/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 507: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the advice or input that was sought from commercial Internet service providers in advance of developing and rolling out the schools e-mail project (details supplied). [37004/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 508: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools that have participated in the pilot schools e-mail project (details supplied); the number of teachers who have received training for the project; the number of users registered on the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37005/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 509: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the provision that has been made in budget 2009 for the extension of the e-mail project (details supplied) beyond pilot stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37006/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 510: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the provision that has been made in budget 2009 for the continued support of the e-mail project (details supplied) in its current status; the amount it is expected this project will cost in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37007/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 505 to 510, inclusive, together.

Schools broadband connectivity under the Schools Broadband Access Programme is routed through the National Broadband Network, which is supported by HEAnet. The network provides centrally managed services for schools such as security, anti-spam, anti-virus and content filtering. This approach of a centrally managed network is in keeping with the approach advocated by Datanet International, an independent telecommunications consultancy that my Department engaged to undertake a study into the provision of broadband Internet connectivity to schools, prior to the commencement of the Schools Broadband Access Programme. Datanet recommended, inter alia, that schools broadband provision be managed through a centrally managed schools network which would provide a range of network functions, including Internet access, security, content filtering, e-mail and virus control.

A request for tenders for the delivery, installation, commissioning and maintenance of an email service for the National Broadband Network was published on the national public procurement website and in the Official Journal of the European Union in September, 2004. Twelve tenders were received and following the evaluation process, the contract with the successful bidder was signed in November 2005. Following the infrastructural build for the project, the system was piloted with 21 schools involving a mix of primary, post-primary and special schools. Pre-pilot training was provided to 24 teachers from the pilot schools and training on the e-mail service was also provided to the ICT advisors and e-mail tutors. The objective of the pilot was that each school would use and provide feedback on the service during this period. HEAnet signed off on the service in September, 2006. While the contract provided for system management in the first year, HEAnet has been supporting the system in-house from the first renewal date. While the spam scanning component of the service is generally available to schools, only those schools that participated in the pilot phase currently have access to the e-mail service. There are currently 2,333 users registered on the system.

There is sufficient provision within my Department's 2009 budget to maintain the existing e-mail service, which being primarily built on open-source software, does not attract ongoing software license fees other than for the anti-spam service element. My Department is considering the potential for the wider application of the e-mail service, having regard to the needs of schools and the costs involved. HEAnet hosts the hardware purchased for the e-mail service and the annual costs involved can be met from my Department's existing resources. In this context, my Department is considering the use of some of the hardware for the provision of webhosting services for schools.