Joe Sherlock
Ceist:57 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Education whether she has plans to resume issuing annual departmental reports which ceased to be issued in 1964, in order to provide information on developments and thinking in education.
Written Answers. - Education Reports.
Up to 1963-64 the annual report included a statistical section and a descriptive section complementary to the statistical data. Since then the Department of Education have revised and expanded considerably the quantitative information given in the annual report. As a result very comprehensive data on the size, complexity and funding of the Irish education system is readily available.
In 1968 the educational journalOideas was launched by the then Minister for Education, Deputy Brian Lenihan. Oideas is published on a regular basis by the Department of Education and is issued free of charge to all schools and colleges as well as being for sale to the general public. It disseminates information and stimulates thought and debate about educational matters at all levels among all those who are interested in and/or engaged in the work of education in Ireland. I am convinced that Oideas should continue with its important role as a journal for educational discourse through which the views of educationists can be disseminated to a wide readership.
The articles published byOideas together with the many conferences, seminars, etc, which are organised regularly by my Department, by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and by other educational agencies and interest groups provide great opportunities for the comprehensive dissemination of information and exchange of views on issues and developments in education.
In recent years it has been the practice for Ministers for Education in their speeches in Dáil Éireann in the context of the Education Estimates to provide a comprehensive overview on important educational issues and on necessary innovative reform measures which are in the process of being planned or implemented.
In addition, the biennial editions ofComprehensive Public Expenditure Programmes provide detailed information on public spending programmes including education programmes to public representatives and to the public at large so that the purposes of spending programmes, their intended results and their financial aspects can be better understood. These together with reports and discussion documents published by my Department, by the Higher Education Authority, by the National Council for Educational Awards, by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and by other educational bodies and interest groups ensure that there are fruitful and dynamic debates and discussions on the various facets of the Irish education system.
My Department of Education also provide information to persons who request information on specific aspects of the education system.