Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 April 2016
738. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she continues to monitor requirements in respect of primary level and secondary level schools in County Kildare, with particular reference to the need to provide facilities and accommodation in line with demographic trends; the extent to which she has identified any particular prioritisation in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7189/16]
View answerIn identifying the requirement for additional school places, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and information from my Department's own databases.
With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and at post-primary level.
The outcome of the latest demographic exercises was that in November 2015, I announced that 4 new primary schools and 9 new post-primary schools will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs.
A range of areas nationwide are experiencing increased demographic pressure and these will be kept under ongoing review by my Department. South Kildare is one of those areas. This ongoing review will take account of updated enrolment data and also the impact of existing and planned capacity increases to existing schools in the area.
My 6-Year Programme includes 310 major school building projects where construction is expected to commence over the six year period, 2016 to 2021. There are 21 projects for County Kildare on the current 6-Year Programme, which have been committed for Major Capital funding.
The positioning of school projects on the Programme, in terms of year to commence construction, is informed by the anticipated progress that each project will make as it progresses through the various stages of the architectural planning process. All projects will, however, continue to be progressed with a view to proceeding to tender and construction stages at the earliest possible opportunity. Details of all projects on the Six Year Construction Programme 2016 – 2021 will be published on my Department's website and this will be updated regularly.
