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School Accommodation Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 November 2018

Wednesday, 28 November 2018

Questions (39)

Clare Daly

Question:

39. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to improve capacity for schools across north County Dublin in view of a widespread shortage of places and a deterioration in accommodation for students. [49582/18]

View answer

Oral answers (6 contributions)

This question and a number of others before the Minister relate to capacity of schools across north County Dublin, the shortage of places and the deterioration of accommodation. I have been a public representative for a long time but I have never seen this matter raised as much as now. When we try to deal with one matter, another pops up. Of the 16 major projects for the area, only two are at the on-site stage. In addition, we have had the problem at Ardgillan community college and other issues. This is unsustainable in a growing area and we need a serious strategy to deal with such concerns.

I thank the Deputy and acknowledge that this is an issue of concern. When I walk down the corridor and meet Deputies and Senators from north County Dublin, it is the only matter they raise.

In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department recently announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years up to 2022, including six new primary and two new post-primary schools to be established in north Dublin. The four year horizon will enable increased lead-in times for planning and delivery of the necessary infrastructure. In addition to the new schools announced, there will be a need for additional school accommodation in other areas in the future. Based on the current analysis, this need can be addressed through either planned capacity increases in existing schools or additional accommodation or extensions to existing schools. Approximately 40% of extra school places are delivered by extending existing schools. The requirement for new schools will be kept under ongoing review and will have regard for the increased roll-out of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.

I know that the issue for the Deputy is the here and now, what happens today and what happens in September in the context of enrolments. I am working very closely on this with my officials to see if we can expedite the land acquisition, provide temporary accommodation and ensure that we meet the basic needs of students next September.

The problem is that it is not working. We all saw the day that was in it yesterday but parents, teachers and students from St. Joseph's Secondary School in Rush organised a protest in the town. They walked from the existing school to the field where the new school is supposed to be built. The school is oversubscribed this year by 140 students. They were outside the Dáil earlier this term and while it is an incredibly useful education for them in the need to protest to get things delivered, they should not have had to do that. What answer does the Minister have for them today? I appreciate that the Minister has outlined the method that the Department is using but I am telling the Minister that it is not working. The situation is critical for St. Joseph's and for St. Maloga's school in Balbriggan, which I have discussed with the Minister previously. In that school, 58% of students are in 20 year old, crumbling prefabs in the current appalling weather. St. Maloga's is only at the project brief stage even though it has been in the pipeline for so long. The same situation prevails at St. Michael's House in Skerries. We have been told that it is a priority but the Department has not even acquired a site yet. The system is broken. The needs of these young people whose education is time sensitive must be addressed in a better way.

As politicians, we all live in the here and now and we all face challenges in terms of young people who are protesting for the right to appropriate school accommodation. There is a drive on now to acquire the site for St. Joseph's. The project is included in the Department's six-year plan up to 2021. The capital funding has been ring fenced and there is no question of this not happening. We must try to move forward within the time constraints and pressure.

We must bear in mind that there has been an explosion in housing in north county Dublin. We are constantly hearing in this House that the Government is not building enough houses but there has been an explosion in the provision of accommodation in north county Dublin in the last five years. However, that is not an excuse for not acting. I will bring the concerns of colleagues from north county Dublin back to the officials in the building unit in my Department and ensure that this issue is kept on the radar.

In respect of St. Joseph's school, the Department will be providing two science laboratories, one technical graphics, design and communications room and one general classroom as an interim measure. The main issue is completing the site acquisition.

The problem is that the population explosion did not happen in the last five years but happened well before then. The children who live in that community and who are part of a population that has been growing for the past 20 years are now in primary and secondary school. They are facing a logjam, not to mention the children to whom the Minister refers who will be starting school in the next few years. It is critical at this stage and the point I am making is that the system is broken.

To take St. Joseph's as an example, the issues in that school have been long flagged. It is not the case that the school community has only taken to the streets in the last month: they saw this coming. The Department was warned and the concerns were flagged. The issue has been raised in this House and with the local authority. In this House, we are told that the local authority is dealing with the matter and is looking for a site but when local councillors raise it with the local authority they are told that no-one in the Department has contacted the authority about finding a site. Meanwhile, children and their parents are out on the streets, protesting.

The story of St. Joseph's is replicated in other areas, including Skerries and other parts of north Dublin. I did not even get a chance to address Swords, a town with a population approaching 40,000 where there is a critical school accommodation problem. I have tabled another question on that matter which we will come to later, hopefully.

The system is broken and the children and their parents who were out in the rain yesterday deserve better. We really need to look at this.

There is no solace in repeating for the Deputy what I have said already. Obviously the population in the area has been growing over the last ten to 20 years. Our geographical information science, GIS, system is factoring in recent house building and family formation in the context of future planning. That is why we have identified the need for 42 new schools nationally. There is obviously a gap in this area and that is something of which I am very conscious. I will continue to liaise with colleagues on this issue and keep the pressure on with regard to the land acquisition.

The Deputy is correct in saying that there are similar issues in Skerries and other parts of north county Dublin. In terms of school planning areas, the list includes Beaumont, Whitehall, Swords, Scribblestown, Portmarnock, Malahide, Donabate, Donaghmede, Castleknock, Carpenterstown and so on. There has been a population explosion in north Dublin with which we must deal and this is a priority for me.

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