Written answers

Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Department of Education and Skills

Education and Training Boards

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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117. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that some education and training boards withheld a percentage of the ICT grant funding allocated directly to schools over the Past five years for improving ICT provision as per each school’s ICT and e-learning plan; the financial amounts each education and training board withheld; and the amounts of the ICT grant each board withheld from their schools for each of the years 2018 to 2022, by education and training board in tabular form. [18613/22]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland’s 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) were established on 1 July 2013. They have statutory responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other functions. ETBs manage and operate second-level schools, further education colleges delivering adult and community education and training programmes, and multi-faith community national schools.

The general funding arrangements in the ETB sector are primarily based on budgets determined by my Department. The enrolment in the individual schools is the main driver of the level of these budgets.

Each ETB has a high level of autonomy in the management and appropriation of grants and may distribute its allocations in line with its priorities and perceptions of need.

As the Deputy may be aware, an investment programme of €210m has been delivered to schools under the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 –2020. Direct funding is provided to schools/ETBs as they are best placed to determine the preferred approach for planning and embedding the use of digital technology in their school in accordance with their own particular context and requirements. A circular outlning the criteria for the grant scheme is published on my Department's website, advising schools of the requirement to have in place a Digital Learning Plan and to align expenditure with that planning. Schools/ETBs must also ensure compliance with Circular: 13/2014 Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds.

A new Digital Strategy will be published shortly. This will build on the progress made under the previous strategy and continue to build capacity in schools to support teachers and learners to avail of the opportunities that the use of digital technologies in education can provide.

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