Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the means by which she intends to provide resources to inform students the way in which to combat misinformation and political disinformation; and if there are movements toward revitalising the civics curriculum to not only teach about Government structures, but also media literacy. [59672/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Online safety and the safe and ethical use of digital technologies is a key component of the Department’s Digital Strategy for Schools. Under the strategy, Webwise, the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre, promotes the autonomous, effective and safe use of the internet through a sustained information and awareness strategy targeting school leaders, teachers, parents and children themselves. Webwise develops and disseminates resources that help teachers integrate digital citizenship and online safety into teaching and learning in their schools. Webwise also run campaigns addressing key topical issues as they arise. With the help of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, Webwise develops youth oriented awareness raising resources and training programmes that promote digital citizenship and address topics such as online wellbeing, cyberbullying and more.

Among the resources covering the topic of mis/disinformation and finding reliable content online are the Webwise Connected programme for Junior Cycle students and the HTML Heroes Programme at primary level for 1st-4th class pupils. In addition, the topic will also be addressed in a new 5th-6th class Digital Citizenship Programme launching in 2026. Support and training for educators on the topic of mis/disinformation is provided through free courses (online and face to face) and via the Webwise Digital Citizenship Champions Programme.

Alongside this, the curriculum, from primary through Junior Cycle to Senior Cycle, offers opportunities for the children and young people in our schools to gain digital skills, critical thinking skills and media literacy. The curriculum offers multiple opportunities for learners to engage with technology, media and information critically, creatively, and safely.

At Primary level, the Primary Curriculum Framework published in 2023 identifies being a digital learner as one of seven key competencies, fostering curiosity, creativity and responsible technology use and this underpins all aspects of the Primary curriculum. For example, the Primary Language Curriculum promotes digital literacy, Primary Mathematics Curriculum encourages problem-solving and creative application of mathematical knowledge and the STEM Curriculum supports inquiry and design thinking. In particular, the Primary Wellbeing Curriculum includes outcomes focused on Media and Digital Wellbeing, supporting safe and ethical use of technology and understanding media influence.

The statements of learning that underpin Junior Cycle include, in particular, a focus explicitly on the development of digital skills setting out the expectation that the student uses technology and digital media tools to learn, communicate, work and think collaboratively and creatively in a responsible and ethical manner. The key skills embedded across Junior Cycle include thinking creatively and critically, and using digital technology to access, manage and share content. At subject level, these are reflected in various ways.

The Junior Cycle short course in Digital and Media Literacy specifically aims to develop students’ digital literacy skills, and improve the capacity of students to know what they are looking for, and what information should be ignored or discarded, and to challenge the views that they find online. The short course is divided into four strands, with strand 3 being Checking the Facts. This strand includes learning outcomes relating to being able to critique the role of digital technologies, communication tools and the internet in a democratic society and act as a critical consumer by presenting digital media texts that highlight bias.

However, skills and learning outcomes relevant to media literacy also arise in other subjects at Junior Cycle. In English, the aims of the specification include engaging personally with and thinking critically about an increasingly broad range of spoken, written and multimodal texts, and using literacy skills to manage information needs, and find, use, synthesise, evaluate and communicate information using a variety of media. History is also a core subject at junior Cycle and instils in students a respect for integrity, objectivity and looking at issues from different perspectives. This capacity for critical thinking helps them to interrogate sources of evidence and make judgements about the viewpoint expressed, including the capacity to identify propaganda. Core to one of the strands of the History specification is for students to work with evidence and engage with the usefulness and limitations of evidence. Civil, Social and Political Education (CSPE) includes several learning outcomes relevant to equipping students to identify mis and disinformation including, in particular, exploring the role of different media in generating information and news and assess the pros and cons of each. Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) at Junior Cycle aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to navigate the world around them, including the online world. Learning outcomes at Junior Cycle include students’ exploration of factors that influence mental health and wellbeing, including digital technology and social media, as well as being able to access and appraise appropriate and trustworthy information about health and wellbeing.

The redevelopment of Senior Cycle continues to progress with with new subject specifications being developed across the board and being introduced in a number of tranches. In the redeveloped Senior Cycle, key competencies have been identified which students will develop within and across the curriculum. These competencies have associated learning outcomes and attributes which are used to identify how students will develop and apply these competencies. The “thinking and solving problems” competency includes the attributes of: getting knowledge, ideas, theories and concepts from different places, using criteria to choose between sources including reliability, using criteria to tell the difference between opinions, judgements, biases, and facts, challenging assumptions and errors, and being open minded. The communication competency includes mediating meaning and changing understanding and approach for different formats and audiences, analysing and interpreting a range of texts, and developing critical understanding. These learning outcomes associated with the competencies will apply to all subjects and modules to varying degrees across a redeveloped senior cycle, with redevelopment of subject specifications now underway.

Existing subjects at Senior Cycle support key skills of media literacy, critical thinking and digital skills in a number of ways. For instance, Leaving Certificate History students should be able to recognise that knowledge is subject to revision and reinterpretation and that while available evidence may be open to more than one valid interpretation, they should be equipped to detect bias, identify propaganda and evaluate the usefulness of particular sources and limitations. These skills are developed through studying a range of historical periods and settings. Leaving Certificate Computer Science includes learning outcomes relating to the relationship between computing technologies and societies, the positive and negative impacts of computing on society, and when and how AI algorithms may be used. Leaving Certificate Politics and Society aims to develop students’ capacity to engage in reflective and active citizenship, informed by the insights and skills of social and political sciences. Currently, the draft Background Paper and Brief for the redeveloped Politics and Society, are out for public consultation on the NCCA website from 1 October to 12 November, accessible here: (

Finally, the Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024–2033 provides a system-wide framework for developing digital literacy at every stage of learning from early-learning and care to post-primary school. Together, these initiatives ensure that learners are critical thinkers capable of engaging responsibly and ethically in an evolving digital society.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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77. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether it is appropriate for the new educational psychologist doctoral programme in Maynooth University to depart from the standard placement procedure by not offering placements within the HSE and within NEPS only; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44790/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Maynooth University is now offering a new three-year Professional Doctorate programme in Educational Psychology. Launched in September 2025 with an intake of twenty Trainee Educational Psychologists in Year 1, this programme will support a substantial increase in the number of qualified educational psychologists available to the Department of Education and Youth’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). It marks a significant step forward on the Government’s commitment to double the number of college places for educational psychologists as outlined in the Programme for Government 2025.

The Maynooth University programme will be compliant with the Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes for Educational Psychologists recently published by CORU, Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Practice placements as part of this programme will ensure that the graduate Educational Psychologists will have achieved all the Standards of Proficiency upon successful completion of an education and training programme.

The two other professional doctorate training programmes for educational psychologists in Ireland provided by UCD and MIC will also now be required to comply with the new Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training programmes for educational psychologists as set out by CORU. Previously these programmes were regulated by the Psychological Society of Ireland. CORU has not specified that practice placements for Trainee Educational Psychologists in the HSE is a requirement.

The Maynooth University graduates will enable an increase in the supply of educational psychologists available to NEPS will help to ensure the ongoing delivery of a high-quality educational psychology service to children, young people and their teachers in school communities across Ireland.