The department of Education was described today as "an institutional failure and a national liability", by a leading Irish education professional.
Dr Edward Walsh, President Emeritus of University of Limerick, delivered the paper entitled "Challenges for educational leaders in the 21st Century"at the Irish Primary Principals Network conference in Galway.
In the paper he criticised the Department for not moving quickly enough to implement new policies.
"At a time when use of the internet is doubling every 6 months, a Department of Education and Science that takes between 9 to 12 years to implement significant educational policy decisions must be looked at as an institutional failure and a national liability," he said.
He called for new initiatives to improve Ireland’s ranking in the science and technology field.
He also question the wisdom of removing science from the primary school curriculum nearly 80 years ago to provide more room for the teaching of Irish.
"Almost one quarter of primary education budget is devoted to Irish, at a cost of over €350 million each year....If we have learned anything during the past 80 years it is that compulsion in teaching languages has failed," he said.
"The kind of unprecedented action that is now injecting over €1 billion into research in higher education must be mirrored at primary and secondary school level if Ireland is to compete in the in a knowledge driven economy," he warned.
The conference continues in Galway tomorrow.