As outlined, the new Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published last year and is underpinned by an investment of €200m to support schools over the period committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The first tranche of €50m issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in late 2021.
The Strategy was developed following an extensive consultation process with all relevant stakeholders and is focused around three pillars, which aim to ensure that the school system is prepared for and continues to progress the embedding of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment, and to embed further progress of the potential of digital technologies to transform the learning experiences of students and to help them to develop key digital skills to facilitate their participation in society and the economy as the transition to further and higher education and to the world of work. Implementation of the Strategy is underway with the extensive provision of teacher professional learning and ongoing advice and support continuing to be provided. In addition, my Department is continuing to upgrade primary schools to high speed broadband services through commercial provision, the National Broadband Plan, and a project under the NRRP, which will see all primary and special schools provided with high speed broadband throughout 2023. Also all post-primary schools are provided with high speed connectivity of 200 Mbps up to 1 Gb through the Schools Broadband Programme. My Department operates and funds the Schools Broadband Programme with an annual cost of some €13m.
ICT Grant funding for schools is part the capital budget of my Department and Government, and as such is subject to the availability of exchequer funding, as well as the wider capital needs of my Department including the School Building Programme.
Our overall School Building Programme is demand driven and determined by constitutional/legal obligations for school provision. The Department’s capital allocation has always been under significant pressure which has been compounded since the NDP allocations were determined in 2021 due to the requirement to deliver large cohort of special class and special school places at pace in particular due to increased prevalence rates of autism in children, the impact of construction inflation – Basic Building Costs based on tender outcomes increased by 21% in the year to June 2022 and the urgent need to cater for very large and unplanned influx of children from Ukraine and other countries under IPAS, which to date have seen over 15,000 children at Primary and Post Primary level accommodated in schools
The Department continues to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform as part of the overall review of the NDP that is being undertaken later in 2023 for the period to 2028 with a view to ensuring a smooth as possible rollout of NDP priorities, including digital strategy commitments into the future.
As underpinned by the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027, my Department remains fully committed to ICT in schools and has to date invested over €300 million directly to schools for ICT over the last 6 years. As previously stated, it is hoped to issue the next tranche of funding in the 2023-2024 school year. As with all such funding, the issuing of the grant is subject to the wider capital needs of the Department including the building programme to ensure the supply of school accommodation.
