Ireland

1. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was adopted by the Department of Education and Skills of Government of Ireland in 2022. The Strategy aims to further support the school system to ensure that all learners have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to successfully navigate an ever-evolving digital world. The first Implementation Plan runs from 2022 to 2024. Towards the end of this phase a midterm review will be carried out to inform the next Implementation Plan from 2025 to 2027. Online safety and the safe and ethical use of digital technologies as a topic is addressed in more detail under Pillar 3. The digital strategy for schools 2027 does not cite specifically the recommendation itself but mentions the CoE activities:  » Supports will also be developed as necessary (..) in relation to further actions arising from the engagement (…) and the Council of Europe reports/guidelines on the rights of the child in the digital environment and any other relevant national/international report » or recommendation. ///In the official government webpage it mentions that « The Council of Europe has produced a digital parenting guide providing guidance for the online protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse » 
2. Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022: The Act will empower an Online Safety Commissioner, as part of the wider Coimisiún na Meán, to hold designated online services to account through binding online safety codes. The OSMR Act will also facilitate the completion of the transposition of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive into Irish law. 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/  
   https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/221285/6fc98405-d345-41a3-a770-c97e1a4479d3.pdf#page=null
2. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e0bdb-keeping-you-and-your-child-safe/
3. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d8e4c-online-safety-and-media-regulation-bill/

1. Digital Strategy Schools to 2027. Videos to promote the strategy and infographics. Webwise.ie provides support and resources in the area of online safety and digital citizenship and is co­funded by the Department and by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility and scoilnet.ie.  

2. Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022: No information found 

Other awareness raising activities beyond these policies:  

3. Extensive professional learning opportunities to assist schools in the safe use of the internet the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) curriculum and the junior cycle Digital Media Literacy short course, the PDST and Webwise Programme and the Department funded national anti­bullying website.  

4. Webwise, the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre, prints and disseminates the All Aboard for DigiTown resource. All Aboard for DigiTown is designed to help older children aged 9 -12 become smart digital citizens by exploring 10 themes in the DigiTown activity book. Topics include consumer awareness, rights, wellbeing, media and information literacy, ethics and empathy, privacy etc. Webwise website refers to the 10 themes/domains identified by the Council of Europe Digital Citizenship Education Expert Group and cites as a source the Council of Europe DCE Handbook.  

5. Webinar on Media Literacy in Europe (2021): introduction to Media Literacy and Media Literacy practices and experiences in Ireland 

6. National Media Awareness Campaign for parents/educators in September 2023 to highlight free educations resources for schools and families including DCE Resources and Training. 

7. Digital citizenship online course organised by Oide, it is designed to teach children and young people how to participate safely, effectively, critically, and responsibly in the digital environment. The course emphasises the development of skills, attitudes, and knowledge required to navigate the online world safely and effectively. 

Sources

1. www.tacklebullying.ie
2. https://www.webwise.ie/
3. https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/10-themes-of-digital-citizenship/
4. https://www.gcedclearinghouse.org/events/webinar-media-literacy-europe-ireland
5. https://www.webwise.ie/trending/new-be-media-smart-national-campaign-encourages-people-to-stop-think-check/
6. https://www.oidetechnologyineducation.ie/videos/?school-level=primary&video-category=teaching-learning&teaching-learning=digitalcitizenship&video-language= 

1. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027. The implementation of this Strategy will be underpinned by the continued development of oversight mechanisms to assess and measure outcomes and impacts at a system level, as well as supports to measure progress at school level through school self-evaluation processes and for teachers in their own self-reflective practice. Industry group & consultative group, inform the steering committee in charge of the implementation plan. The first Implementation Plan will run from 2022-2024. Throughout the implementation of the national Strategy, Webwise will continue to develop and disseminate relevant resources and run campaigns addressing key topical issues as they arise. This will take into account relevant recommendations and advice such as those arising from the review of the Action Plan on Bullying and from the National Advisory Council for Online Safety 3. While the spirit of partnership is already in place in many schools across the country, the Education (Student and Parent Charter) Bill, once enacted, will provide a mechanism for enhanced consultation on such matters in schools. 4. Strategy Governance and Oversight Implementation Structure: A Steering Group will be established to oversee and provide guidance on the implementation of this Strategy. Ireland conducted a review of the implementation of the previous the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020. No assessment has been carried out for the Digital Strategies for Schools to 2027. 
2. Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022. It establishes a robust regulatory framework to deal with the spread of harmful online content. The Act will empower an Online Safety Commissioner, as part of the wider Coimisiún na Meán, to hold designated online services to account through binding online safety codes. 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/
2. https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/221291/2bf1c705-9aae-4356-a6b1-b0ef37fbf5a4.pdf#page=null

1. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027. Consultation process: students at primary and post-primary level, parents/guardians, teachers and school leaders as well as the education partners, initial teacher education institutions, disability groups, non-governmental organisations, the industry sector, EU colleagues in a number of member states and other relevant Government Departments. Online questionnaires, Open call for submissions, Focus Groups, Consultative Group (a key group comprising representatives from the education partners, parents and students groups and an overarching industry representative (more detail in the strategy).Establishment of an additional Industry group ( to harness input and provide a formal means of communication between the Department and key industry stakeholders to support the implementation of the Strategy) and consultative group (comprising key stakeholders including parent/guardian and learner + industry group. midterm review will be carried out to inform the next Implementation Plan from 2025-2027).  
2. Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022. Active involvement of stakeholders (public consultation, virtual workshop, numerous stakeholder meetings involving Minister Martin and/or the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, including with representative organisations such as Technology Ireland (Ibec), industry, children’s rights organisations like the Children’s Rights Alliance, and various other NGOs such as the Irish Heart Foundation and Samaritans Ireland 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/ https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/423f8-minister-foley-publishes-digital-strategy-for-schools-to-2027-and-announces-payment-of-50-million-in-ict-grant-funding-for-schools/
2. https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/7d09a-digital-strategy-for-schools/    

1. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027. The Implementation Plan will be led by an internal Digital Strategy Steering Group and will involve ongoing engagement with relevant education partners and other key stakeholders. The role of school leadership is also crucial in the successful implementation of the Digital Learning Framework (DLF)13 and enabling staff engagement in order to effectively link actions under the DLF to the School Self­Evaluation Process (SSE). 
2. Online safety act: creation of expert group to examine the possibility of providing for an individual complaints mechanism in the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill. In addition, establishment of a new multi-person media commission, to be known as Coimisiún na Meán 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/
2. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d8e4c-online-safety-and-media-regulation-bill/

1. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027: Industry group & consultative group will inform the steering committee in charge of the implementation plan. However, no evaluation has been carried out yet

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/

1. National Advisory Council for Online Safety (NACOS). It is a forum for non-governmental, industry, and academic stakeholders to discuss online safety issues. It has 20 members and a chairperson, drawn from children’s and parents’ organisations, major online platforms, and experts on online safety issues. 
2. OIDE: Oide Technology in Education is a service that promotes and supports the embedding of digital technology in teaching, learning, and assessment. They provide various digital technology-related support to teachers and schools. Oide is a new support service for teachers and school leaders in Ireland, funded by the Department of Education, formed from the integration of four existing support services and launched on September 1, 2023. The role of Oide involves advising and developing policies for the Department of Education on digital technologies in Irish education, supporting schools in building high-quality digital infrastructures, and coordinating the Schools Broadband Programme. It includes designing teacher professional development programs, managing the Scoilnet educational portal, promoting safe internet use through Webwise, and creating digital content aligned with the Irish curriculum. Additionally, it entails providing guidance to educational agencies and conducting research on best practices for digital technology in education. 
3. Media Literacy Ireland: informal alliance of individuals and organisations who work together on a mainly voluntary basis to promote media literacy in Ireland (more than 250 members from different sectors).
4. Webwise is the Irish Safer Internet Awareness Centre. Funded by the Department of Education and the European Commission,it promotes safer, better Internet use through awareness raising and education initiatives targeting teachers, children, young people and parents. Webwise develops and disseminates resources that help teachers integrate digital citizenship and online safety into teaching and learning in their schools. Webwise also provides information, advice, and tools to parents to support their engagement in their children’s online lives. With the help of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, Webwise develops youth oriented awareness raising resources and training programmes that promote digital citizenship and address topics such as online wellbeing, cyberbullying and more. A Webwise Parents Hub and a Youth Hub are also available with an extensive array of resources and supports that give practical information and advice on key issues such as respectful online communication, ethical use of digital technologies, cyberbullying, image sharing, social media, popular applications and websites and more. Such resources are developed with the help of many stakeholders including parenting experts, child safety experts and subject experts, other Government Departments, An Garda Síochána, Industry and the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel.
5. The Irish Safer Internet Centre: The Irish Safer Internet Centre vision is a positive and inclusive digital world where children are safe and protected. 
6. The Irish SIC is a partnership of four leading organisation with a mission to make the Internet a better place for children and young people, under the co-ordination of the Department of Justice, Cybercrime Division. 
7. The consortium was appointed over a decade ago by the European Commission as the Safer Internet Centre in Ireland, and is one of 31 Safer Internet Centres in Europe and an integral part of the INSAFE-INHOPE network. 
8. Google Be Internet Legends.  
9. Microsoft: Dream Space journey Ireland  
10. APT Ireland published in their webpage the CoE handbook on DCE.  
11. Children Rights Alliance 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/69fb88-digital-strategy-for-schools/
2. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ebe58-national-advisory-council-for-online-safety-nacos/
3. https://www.oidetechnologyineducation.ie/projects-initiatives/
4. https://www.medialiteracyireland.ie/
5. https://beinternetlegends.withgoogle.com/en_ie
6. https://pulse.microsoft.com/en-ie/making-a-difference-en-ie/education-en-ie/fa3-empowering-young-people-to-re-imagine-irelands-digital-future/
7. https://www.aptireland.org/about-us/
8. https://childrensrights.ie/members/our-members/  

Webwise and Oide incorporate the COE DCE Framework into resources and training for educators 

Sources

1. https://assets.gov.ie/234959/ada31389-3cfe-4d90-b8f7-350f66ccf9ec.pdf

1. Not a member of DCE promoters network 
2. Member of EU Media literacy expert group 
3. Member of Working Group on Digital Education: Learning, Teaching and Assessment (DELTA) 
4. Member of Global Education Network (GENE) 
5. Member of Commission Expert group on Safer Internet for Children. 
6. Member of EDMO 
7. The Irish Safe Internet Centre Webwise is included in The Digital Citizenship Map, an initiative of the Digital Citizenship Working Group, a multidisciplinary group of EU civil society organisations, academics and think tanks with the aim to contribute to the debate around digital citizenship in the EU. The Map serves as a repository of ongoing and in some cases completed projects and initiatives that focus on different aspects of digital citizenship. 
8. Member of Commission Working group on Schools 

Sources

6. https://edmo.eu/resources/repositories/mapping-the-media-literacy-sector/ireland/ 

7. https://digitalcitizenshipmap.eu/ 

Training on DCE to teachers and other professionals:
Digital Citizenship Champions Programme (F2F Training for Educators): 

Developed by Oide TIE and Webwise, the Digital Citizenship Champion Programme is an initiative designed to empower primary teachers with the essential knowledge, skills, and resources to effectively teach digital citizenship. A total of 90 Digital Citizenship Champions have been recruited nationwide. These champions will participate in four days of professional development from May 2024 to April 2025. The programme incorporates the COE DCE Framework. 

Oide TIE Online Courses in Online Safety and Digital Citizenship: 

This course aims to provide teachers with the knowledge, resources and confidence to teach digital citizenship and to empower learners to be safe, ethical and responsible online. The course draws upon COE DCE Framework. 

• Primary: https://www.oidetechnologyineducation.ie/onlinecourses/online-safety-and-digital-citizenship-primary/ 

• Post-Primary: https://www.oidetechnologyineducation.ie/onlinecourses/what-is-digital-citizenship-and-how-to-teach-it/  

Translation and dissemination of DCE Recommendation:
No response from the national authorities in the online survey.