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leaving certificate. The Minister requested schools to be cognisant of the view of all parents in relation to the use of digital devices and the associated costs and set out the need for schools to engage with all parents, and not just the parents' association, before deciding … critical thinking and to enhance collaborative learning. It is not merely about replacing physical textbooks and resources with digital versions accessed via a digital device. The Department commissioned OECD research on the impact of digital technologies on student learning and this was published in September last year. This

equitable. The Minister of State mentioned that the Minister has communicated with schools. She wrote a letter to schools about the use of digital devices. That is not good enough because it has not made any meaningful difference. As I said earlier, guidance without enforcement simply … review of the roll-out of the devices. The Government should restore the funding for ICT and provide proper support for schools for digital devices so that no child will be disadvantaged because they cannot afford expensive technology. Otherwise, we are going to continue seeing parents being

under judicially approved search warrants. In organised crime investigations, gardaí increasingly encounter sophisticated technology. Recent cases have involved satellite phones, GPS devices, radios and other digital equipment, all of which can be central to co-ordinating criminal enterprises. Criminals use such technology to conceal and facilitate serious offences … course of investigations can be accessed and used. The Bill is not simply about phone messages. It also covers laptops and other digital storage devices that may contain evidence critical to prosecutions, including in cases involving child sexual abuse material. Ensuring lawful and timely access to such evidence

regulate this is a dereliction of its duty. The Government is insisting that devices are not needed and not mandatory but guidance without enforcement does not offer any comfort at all. The resulting growing digital divide risks creating a two-tier education system where a family's income … families do not continue to struggle every year as the return to school comes around, particularly in respect of the cost of these digital devices

broadly welcome the passage of the Bill through the Seanad. It takes the long-overdue step of streamlining stop-and-search procedures, digital device warrants and integrating the European Union's human rights directives into our domestic laws. However, during the Seanad debates Senator McDowell warned, for example

families are spending over €1,100 getting a child ready for school, and 57% of secondary school parents are facing a bill for digital devices with an average cost of €447. When a child finishes school and might go to third level, those costs do not disappear. Research

Deputy David Cullinane- To discuss staffing shortages at Waterford South City CDNT. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the high cost of mandatory digital devices for children attending school. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the need for modular accommodation at a school in County Meath. Deputy Sinéad

schools and boards of management this year, she emphasised the importance of minimising that cost burden on students and their families where digital devices are used as part of school life. She requested that school authorities have regard to a number of key principles. The guidance also reflects

WALK for the continuation of peer ability programmes in County Louth. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the high cost of mandatory digital devices for children attending school. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the need for modular accommodation at a school in County Meath. Deputy Brian Stanley

therefore essential that An Garda Síochána has modern powers to gather evidence and investigate serious offences effectively. The provisions dealing with electronic devices and digital evidence recognise that reality. However, effective policing and civil liberties are not competing objectives. In fact, they depend on one another. Public trust

public and to Garda members themselves. The Bill also reflects the reality of modern crime. Criminals increasingly use digital technology, encrypted communications and electronic devices. The law must keep pace if gardaí are to effectively investigate serious crime and protect the public from those who seek to exploit

Bill brings important clarity in that regard by distinguishing between the seizure of a device, the capture of data, the screening of material for privilege and a full digital forensic examination. This will give gardaí much greater clarity as to what they are legally entitled

District Court and seek an authorisation in relation to a device that has already been lawfully seized. That authorisation can allow gardaí to capture data and carry out privileged screening or a digital forensic examination. The journalist is not there nor is the solicitor. Nobody is there … phone and there are messages between them and there are emails. There may be documents stored on the device which are accessible through it. That material is assessed and subsequently goes before the High Court. The High Court might ultimately decide it is privileged and the material might

Quirke, the court recognised that a phone or a computer is a separate digital space, and in Landeck, the Court of Justice of the European Union set out what is required before a device is examined. This Bill answers all three of those. The Bill also introduces important

understanding is that the Garda is taking this particularly seriously. It has increased capacity through the roll-out of apps on mobile devices and the deployment of high-performance unmarked cars, motorbikes, lorry tractor cabs and so on. On 1 January of this year, An Garda Síochána introduced … vehicles and intelligent transport systems, ITS, technologies to improve road safety outcomes. We are taking practical steps to create the legislative, regulatory and digital foundations needed to support the safe deployment of connected and automated mobility and ITS technologies. The Government will continue to support the deployment

Department will begin to collect data on the total cost of sending a child to school, including voluntary contributions, uniforms, books and digital devices, given that this data is not currently collected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65401/26

Department will begin to collect data on the total cost of sending a child to school, including voluntary contributions, uniforms, books and digital devices, given that this data is not currently collected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65400/26

Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 526 of 28 April 2026, to provide a list of the frameworks of providers of digital devices recommended to schools. [65042/26