Department of Education and Skills (Ireland) - Departmental Overview

Departmental Overview

The mission of the Department of Education and Skills is to provide high-quality education which will enable individuals to achieve their full potential and to participate fully as members of society, and contribute to Ireland's social, cultural and economic development. Chief among the Department's priorities are:

• the promotion of equity and inclusion, quality outcomes and lifelong learning
• planning for education that is relevant to personal, social, cultural and economic needs
• enhancement of the capacity of the Department for service delivery, policy formulation, research and evaluation

While education at primary and secondary levels is free in Ireland, due to costs for books and other levies it is estimated that it can cost as much as €70,000 to put a child through the state school system (from age 5 to 17) at 2009 costs.