Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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192. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the projects and programmes with her Department which have been allocated funding under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Programme; the funds drawn down to date in each instance; the profiled drawdown in each of the forthcoming years of the programme; the steps she is taking to ensure that projects and programmes are completed within the specified timeframe; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37783/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) has been developed by the Government so that Ireland can access funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Ireland is expected to receive €988 million in grants under the Facility up to 2027.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the largest component of NextGenerationEU, the European Union’s response to the global pandemic. The aim is to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the pandemic and to prepare for a post-Covid Europe that is greener, more digital, more resilient and fit to face the future.

Under this facility, the Department of Education applied for and received funding in respect of two projects to provide digital infrastructure and funding to schools, high speed broadband connectivity for primary schools where the National Broadband Plan and commercial provision will not provide such connectivity (Project A), and funding for schools to provide for interventions to address the digital divide, particularly access to digital devices and relevant ICT infrastructure (Project B).

Project A provided some €13.5m in funding. This supported an intervention project whereby those primary schools outside of the National Broadband Plan Intervention area, and in areas where commercial provision is insufficient, was provided with high-speed connectivity of 100 Mbp/s or greater. The programme operates under the Schools Broadband Programme with the Implementation of this project, been led by a Steering Group which included representatives from my Department, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, HEAnet, and Oide-tie. Through this project, some 990 primary schools were have now been upgraded to a high speed broadband connection.

Project B provided €50m in funding for schools in late 2021. This funding issued through a one-off scheme to schools, targeting those learners most at risk of educational disadvantage through lack of access to ICT equipment. While available data shows that some schools have concentrated levels of disadvantage it is also the case that other schools may have learners at risk of educational disadvantage among their student cohort. Schools are best placed to identify and address inequalities to ensure those learners most at risk are supported and have access to the appropriate digital technologies required to give them every opportunity to fulfil their educational potential and gain key digital skills as part of their education.

The Department of Education projects under Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) have now successfully concluded and as such, are subject to the mechanisms established in the Recovery and Resilience Facility Operational Arrangement outlined in the Council Implementing Decision of 8th of September 2021. Overall responsibility for Ireland's NRRP lies with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as Implementing Body and as such is responsible for drawdown requests. My Department liaises with DPer as required to ensure that the operational arrangements agreed to are met to assist with any such requests.