Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 160: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will respond to a query in relation to the education system and its role in the development of a knowledge economy (details supplied). [12215/09]

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Issues relating to the school curriculum and to higher education are policy matters for my colleague the Minister for Education and Science, who is responding separately on these points.

I consider it vitally important that our education system provides the skills required by our enterprise sector. The 2008 Forfas national skills bulletin pointed out that current shortages of high level IT skills (software, IT services, systems integration, electronics/IC design, automation and process control) are expected to persist.

My Department funds the Discover Science and Engineering programme, which is run by Forfas. Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) is supporting the "pipeline" to the knowledge economy by encouraging more students to take up careers in the physical sciences and in engineering. DSE, through its extensive programmes supports the science curriculum at primary and second levels and encourages more students to take an interest in science and engineering and subsequently to study those subjects at third and fourth level.

DSE's primary school programmes focus on learning about the science in the world around us. Over 90% (3,000) of primary schools participate in its programmes where the emphasis is on learning-by-doing rather than on rote learning. This programme therefore encourages key skills such as scientific observational techniques and teamwork, which are so essential to the modern knowledge economy. Also, there is a strong emphasis on interactive ICT skills in this programme. The two key programmes here are Discover Primary Science and Greenwave.ie, an environmental and climate centred project and in both case schools submit and interact via the internet. In the case of the former new learning modules are delivered on the internet also.

Similarly, at second level and in support of the Junior Certificate science curriculum DSE focuses very much on the development of key learning skills for the knowledge economy. Here it is currently working through its Sensors programme with nearly 200 schools by supporting their use of electronic data gathering equipment which the students use in their project work. In addition, DSE with its partner Intel through the Scifest programme is promoting science and engineering project work at local level. In this programme students are encouraged to compete by submitting their projects in competitions hosted at each one of 12 local Institutes of Technology. The key internet support here is ProjectBlogger which hosts discussions amongst students on their project work. Similarly DSE supports the national display of science and engineering project as a Gold Partner of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

In addition, DSE promotes careers in technology by working closely with Engineers Ireland and the Cork Electronic Industries Association and by also promoting these careers as a partner to CareersPortal.ie.

My Department also funds ICT research and development through Science Foundation Ireland. SFI invests in research teams that generate new knowledge and leading edge technologies fostering competitive enterprise activity in the fields of science and engineering underpinning ICT, biotechnology and energy. In the ICT area, SFI investment includes software, hardware and their combination. One of the important outputs of that funding is a growing stream of PhD graduates in areas of ICT closely linked to the needs of Irish industry.