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The debate on AI literacy at school benefits from comparison with national experiences that are already structured. Ireland offers a telling case: a multi-year digital strategy for schools, backed by €200 million in capital funding, an implementation plan with measurable actions and, most recently, dedicated guidance on the use of AI. We retrace its design, with an eye to what can be drawn from it.
The Digital Strategy for Schools 2021-2027 and its three pillars
Ireland’s digital strategy for schools (Department of Education) is built on three pillars: supporting the embedding of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment; digital technology infrastructure; and a forward-looking pillar on policy, research and digital leadership. The design was built on a broad consultation that also involved students.
The implementation plan and the SEF programme’s cluster model
The strategy is accompanied by an implementation plan that translates the pillars into actions. On the experimental side, the Schools Excellence Fund, Digital & STEM programme (2018-2022) adopted a “cluster” model, with schools collaborating on shared projects; the final evaluation, published in September 2025 (H2 Learning, for the Department of Education and Youth), measured its results and shortcomings, with recommendations for future projects.
AI in schools: the guidance from the Department of Education and Youth and Oide
In October 2025 a first version of the Guidance on Artificial Intelligence in Schools was issued, published by the Department of Education and Youth together with Oide Technology in Education. The document does not impose detailed rules, but promotes a shared understanding of AI and sets principles for its responsible, safe and effective use, expressly drawing on the best practices of UNESCO and the European Union, and points to a dedicated resource hub.
Critical points: what Italy can read in the Irish case
The Irish model suggests lessons that travel beyond national borders. The first is sequence: first a strategy with pillars and an implementation plan, then sector-specific AI guidance, so that technological innovation rests on an existing policy infrastructure. The second is method, made of consultation and cluster-based experimentation, which values collaboration among schools. The third is the choice of orienting rather than prescriptive guidance, consistent with the “promotional” centre of gravity that Article 4 of the AI Act took on after the Digital Omnibus, and with the broader European picture of digital competences we set out when commenting on the State of the Digital Decade 2026.
Conclusions
The Irish case is not a model to transplant, but a reference: it shows how introducing AI into school works better when grafted onto a mature digital strategy, made of pillars, measurable actions and collaboration among institutions. For Italy, which faces the same themes within a common European framework, it is a reminder of the value of sequence and method.
Author: Valentina Grazia Sapuppo
