By next September, under the £40 million IT 2000 plan, Ireland will be the first country to have all its schools linked up to meet the technological revolution, the Minister for Education said.
He was speaking at the opening of a computer laboratory for primary school children at the Mary Immaculate College in Limerick yesterday.
It was part of the programme to mark the centenary of the foundation of the college. It has expanded from a primary teachers' training centre to include a wide range of degrees in arts and education.
Mr Tony Bromell, the registrar, presented Mr Martin with the first phase of a £10 million development plan. This is to enable the college to cater for 2,500 students by the year 2000, to meet the needs of expanded teacher requirements. Earlier the Minister opened the restored Summerville House, the 18th-century former home of the Goodbody family, which is a tutorial and postgraduate centre.
In formally opening the week of celebrations, the Papal Nuncio, Dr Luciano Storero, paid tribute to the work of the college, which is now linked to the University of Limerick. He said the college had a vision of the needs of generations to come, together with the proper advances in technology.