€30 million available nationally in 2017
Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, has confirmed that approximately €3.42 million is being allocated to schools available to Cork schools to develop information and communications technology.
“This €3.42 million investment in Cork primary and post-primary schools forms part of a total funding package of €30 million nationally by the Department of Education and Science to develop ICT infrastructure in schools.
“The Digital Strategy ICT Infrastructure Grant for the 2016/2017 academic year is worth approximately €4,000 for a 100 pupil school and approximately €11,000 for a 500 pupil school at primary level. At post-primary level, the grant is worth circa €15,000 for a 500 student school, and over €27,000 for a 1,000 student school. This grant will benefit 427 schools in Cork.
“The funding will support the development and implementation of an eLearning Plan for each school to embed ICT in teaching and learning. Schools can use this funding for a range of products to support learning such as:
• Teaching computers/shared student computers which include PCs, laptops, tablets or hybrid devices.
• Projectors including short throw or ultra-short throw, long throw, interactive, or interactive flat screens (IFS).
• Cloud based tools and applications and learning platforms
“The rates payable in primary schools are €2,000 per school plus €22.20 per mainstream pupil, with additional per capita payments for pupils in DEIS schools, Special Classes and Special Schools. At post-primary, the rates payable are €2,000 per school plus €31.90 per student, with an additional per capita payment for students in DEIS schools.
“Fine Gael’s education strategy sets out a clear vision to fulfil the potential of digital technologies to transform the learning experiences of students, providing them with marketable digital skills as they progress through the education system.”
