Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 18: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the amount of the €22 million worth of grants promised to primary schools for laptops and digital projectors announced in December 2009 have been awarded to primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39619/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that this fund has been fully disbursed. I can confirm that a total of €22,294,055.01 was distributed under this scheme, directly to primary schools, in 2009.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 19: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the progress made on the smart schools, smart economy plan announced in November 2009; the amount of the €150 million that has been spent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39620/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the ICT in Schools Programme addresses four broad areas, namely:- the provision of essential ICT infrastructure and networking within schools- continuous professional development in ICT for teachers- integrating ICT within the curriculum and providing curriculum relevant digital content and software. - the provision of access to broadband connectivity to schools.

The 'Smart Schools = Smart Economy' Report to which the Deputy refers builds on the 2008 Strategy Group report, and contains relevant recommendations in the context of how best to realise the potential of ICT use in schools. A Steering Group was established to oversee and advise on the implementation of the recommendations and this group has established four sub-groups to assist it in making recommendations to me on how best to implement the report. The sub-groups are made up of representatives from education and from industry and I am confident that this partnership will lead to innovative proposals. Expenditure under the ICT in Schools Programme for 2009 amounted to some €35.2m, including €22.3m in ICT Infrastructure Grants (capital investment) to primary schools. I have just issued a further €20.75m in post-primary ICT Infrastructure Grants, and intend to issue a further tranche of capital grants to the primary sector shortly. In line with recommendations in the above-mentioned reports, these capital grant schemes prioritise equipping classrooms with digital projectors, teaching computers and wireless mice and keyboards.

Schools have been provided with a range of advice and supports through the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE), and have been given access to national purchasing Frameworks to assist them in getting best value for money in their procurement. In addition to the provision of ICT hardware there are significant developments on all aspects of the ICT in Schools Programme. A range of ICT-related training programmes are offered to teachers under the NCTE's Teaching Skills Initiative, under which some 12,000 training places were provided in 2009. A national programme of e-learning seminars for school leaders were provided to Primary Principals and seminars for Post Primary Principals will commence shortly. Scoilnet, the national portal for digital content in Irish Education provides a central resource to teachers, pupils and parents, offering access to a growing repository of advice and information.

In relation to Broadband for schools, since the commencement of the rollout of phase II in 2009 there has already been over a 50% increase in aggregate bandwidth usage. This is due to improved bandwidth speeds being made available to schools and the substantial reduction in the number of schools which are connected via satellite. My Department is furthermore working with the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources in a pilot project to roll out 100 megabits broadband connectivity to 78 post primary schools. All 78 schools are now connected. The availability of 100 megabits will enable students to learn and collaborate online and will provide potential for new forms of collaboration between schools.

My Department will continue to implement the ambitious ICT in Schools Programme which will ensure that our schools are making the best use of ICT in teaching and learning.