Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 July 2017
330. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Malahide and Portmarnock areas of County Dublin as announced in November 2015; if he has identified locations for these proposed schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35952/17]
View answerThe Patron of the new Malahide/Portmarnock post-primary school (Educate Together) has decided for operational reasons that it is in the best interests of the school to postpone its opening to September 2018.
Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site for the school. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time but I can assure the Deputy that the school patron will be informed of the proposed location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so.
Where a requirement for additional post-primary schools has been identified, details including proposed timelines related to the opening of the schools are made known by a Ministerial announcement. However, patrons may decide for different operational reasons in a particular year that it is in the best interests of a new post-primary school to defer its opening. In some cases there may be a timing issue, where many parents will have already committed to other second level schools in the area ahead of the announcement of the new school.
