Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2021
329. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the full budget allocated by her Department in each year since 2010, to secondary schools for the purchase and use of devices by students such as a device (details supplied) and tablets, laptops and so on or other forms of devices in tabular form. [32663/21]
View answerAs part of the €210m investment programme underpinning the implementation of the Digital Strategy for Schools, my Department provided €100m in grant funding to recognised primary, special and post-primary schools to address their ICT needs during 2020. This included €50m in respect of the 2020-2021 school year brought forward and issued in December 2020. Schools were advised that they can use this funding to support the continuity of teaching and learning should a period of partial or full school closure occur arising from Public Health advice owing to Covid-19 restrictions. The funding is intended to enable schools to implement their Digital Learning Plan through provision of appropriate infrastructure, and issues directly to schools as they are best placed to determine requirements for their own context and circumstances. This includes Desktop PCs, laptops, tablets or hybrid devices, projectors/flat screens, cloud-based tools and software applications, and learning platforms.
ICT annual grant funding
|
Date |
Total |
|
2009/2010 & 2010/2011 |
€92million |
|
2016/17 |
€30million |
|
2017/18 |
€30million |
|
2018/19 |
€50million |
|
2019/2020 & 2020-2021** |
€100million |
** Funding for the 2020-2021 school year was brought forward to issue in 2020 to support schools to deal with the impact of the pandemic.
Further information on criteria and the funding allocation applying can be found in the ICT Grant Circular 0077/2020, available on the Department's website.
The Professional Development Service for Teachers Technology in Education (PDST-TIE) offers advice and supports to schools on digital learning. Advice sheets are available on digital technology in education, including on the adoption of laptops and tablets in schools.
Primary schools can use the Minor Works Grant for the provision of ICT infrastructure, and general capitation that issues to schools can also be used for that purpose. New schools and school extension projects also receive funding for ICT infrastructure as part of their furniture and equipment funding.
Development of a new Digital Strategy is underway and an extensive consultation process has commenced with an open call for submissions, and questionnaires for practitioners, parents and learners. Further strands of the consultation will include engagement through focus groups. A Consultative Advisory Group has been established comprising key stakeholders representing parents, teachers, students and industry. Future funding measures to support schools in embedding the use of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment will be considered as part of that process.
