Vol. 563 No. 6
70 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science if ICT grants will be awarded in 2003 to mainstream national schools; and when the schools can expect to receive this payment for equipment that has been installed. [8591/03]
Substantial funding has been made available to schools in recent years to promote the use of information and communications technologies in teaching and learning and to prepare students for participation in the knowledge society. However, my Department is subject to budgetary constraints in 2003 and this will limit the amount of ICT capital grants which can be provided to schools this year.
The Government remains fully committed to supporting schools in the promotion of ICT skills and innovative applications in teaching and learning. To this end, the National Centre for Technology in Education is currently conducting a nationwide census of all schools on behalf of my Department in order to determine progress achieved in meeting the ICT needs of schools as well as resource requirements going forward. The findings of this census, which will be available by mid-year, will inform future policy and programme priorities in this area having regard to available budgetary resources.
