Peadar Tóibín
Question:292. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will build a secondary school in Enfield, County Meath. [9946/16]
View answerTuesday, 17 May 2016
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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 post-primary level.
The outcome of the latest demographic exercises was that in November 2015, my predecessor announced that 4 new primary schools and 9 new post-primary schools will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. As part of that announcement it was noted that a range of areas nationwide, including Enfield (Kilcock school planning areas), are experiencing increased demographic pressure and will be kept under ongoing review. This review will take into account updated enrolment data and capacity developments in this and adjacent school planning areas.