Vol. 434 No. 2
37 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Education if, in view of her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 148 of 6 July 1993, she will give her views on the fact that not one of the girls from the Cabra National School (details supplied) in Dublin 7 was accepted for entry to the Convent Secondary School in Cabra in 1993, while girls from areas outside of Cabra obtained places.
As I already stated in my reply to Dáil Question No. 148 on 6 July 1993, intake policy is essentially a matter for each second level school management subject to the application of acceptable criteria. The primary responsibility of my Department is to ensure that overall, sufficient places exist at second level to cater for demand in a given area.
I accept that the demand for places in the second level school in question exceeds the number of places available in the school at present. This school is one of the schools attended by pupils from the Dunboyne and Castleknock area. A decision has been taken to provide a new school at Dunboyne and the necessary planning process has been initiated. A study by an independent consultant into the post-primary education needs of the Castleknock area is at an advantaged stage and a report and recommendation will be available shortly.
My Department is in touch with the Management Authorities of the school with a view to ensuring that more facilities will be available.
