Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2018
48. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to address the shortage of primary school places in the catchment area of south-west Swords with a view to the 2018 enrolments; and his plans to provide a long term solution to the ongoing shortage of places to meet the needs of the community. [4659/18]
View answerIn order to plan for school provision, the demographic data for the Swords school planning area, as with other school planning areas nationwide, is being kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated child benefit data and updated enrolment data. It is anticipated that decisions based on these exercises will be announced in the near future.
As the Deputy is aware, there are a total of 11 schools enrolling junior infant classes serving the Swords area, comprising 8 Catholic schools, one Gaelscoil, one Educate Together school and one Church of Ireland school. My Department is aware of the pressure on school places in recent years in the Swords school planning area. In that regard, my Department is monitoring the expected enrolment position in the school planning area with the aim of ensuring that there is adequate accommodation to cater for the demand for places in September 2018.
