More than half a dozen secondary schools across Ireland are facing severe curriculum delays as they await hundreds of student laptops and tablets ordered from Olive for Education, with devices paid for by parents remaining undelivered nearly a third of the way into the academic year, The Irish Times reported.
The Bottom Line
- Financial Exposure: Parents have paid upwards of €650 per device for equipment that remains undelivered months into the school term.
- Operational Bottlenecks: Schools report delayed coursework and compromised electronic assessment submissions due to hardware shortages.
- Legal and Corporate Friction: Supplier Olive Group faces ongoing High Court litigation regarding alleged commercial sabotage involving former executives.
Unfulfilled Orders and Mounting Parent Pressure at Secondary Schools
Principals across multiple secondary institutions are managing escalating frustrations from families who funded high-cost IT packages. According to figures provided to The Irish Times, at least two schools have upwards of 200 overdue laptops that were scheduled for delivery prior to the start of the school year. While some students received their hardware, they were left without the protective hard plastic cases also covered by their payments.
Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), confirmed that his organisation has stepped in to advise school administrators on their legal rights. NAPD are aware that a number of schools who ordered student devices have not yet received those devices despite the order being placed well in advance of the start of the school year,
Crone stated. He added that the situation places an unmanageable burden on principals forced to handle vendor failures locally.
Supply Chain Disruptions and Executive Absence at Conferences
Vendor explanations for the logjam have varied. Affected schools reported being told that global supply chain disruptions were responsible for the hardware delays. However, attempts by administrators to confront supplier representatives at industry events yielded little resolution. One principal recounted speaking with Olive staff at the NAPD conference in Galway last month, where they were directed to address grievances with chief executive Brendan Kavanagh, who ultimately did not attend.
Internal shifts at Olive Group have added to administrative confusion. Gary Hoey, previously the primary contact as Olive’s director of education, now directs inquiries to other staff members due to a transition toward developing new educational software offerings.
High Court Litigation and Corporate Restructuring at Olive Group
Behind the delivery failures lies active corporate friction. In July, Olive initiated High Court proceedings against former executives who launched a competing venture named Eduvolve. Olive alleged commercial sabotage and improper customer solicitation, claiming losses across 20 school contracts valued at €1.6 million. The defendants have denied all allegations.
When media queries regarding school IT delays were submitted to Olive’s spokesperson, the company declined to address the operational concerns directly. Instead, a legal letter marked private and confidential was issued via Philip Lee solicitors. The underlying High Court dispute is scheduled for a mention hearing on Monday.
| Metric / Factor | Reported Status |
|---|---|
| Overdue Devices per Affected School | 200+ laptops (in multiple reporting schools) |
| Parent Investment per Device Package | Exceeding €650 |
| Disputed Contract Valuations (High Court) | €1.6 million across 20 institutions |
| Upcoming Legal Proceeding Date | High Court mention on Monday |
With electronic submission requirements for classroom-based assessments pressing forward, schools lacking adequate computer labs are caught between mandatory digital coursework and missing vendor inventory. Administrators await Monday’s High Court developments as procurement accountability remains a central point of contention for school boards nationwide.
