Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
192. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the statement by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection at a recent meeting that social welfare data cannot be relied upon for accuracy by the Department of Education and Skills in its forward planning. [15307/19]
View answer193. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has previously been advised by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection that the data of her Department cannot be relied upon for forward planning purposes. [15308/19]
View answer196. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent of information sharing between his Department and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. [15320/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 192, 193 and 196 together.
In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. My Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post-primary level to determine where additional school accommodation is needed.
A number of sections in my Department share information with DEASP such as the Forward Planning Section (Child Benefit data is utilised for demographic analysis/requirement for new schools) and Statistics Section (Single Customer View is utilised to verify PPS numbers for the Primary Online Database (POD).
Child Benefit data is one of the sources utilised in the nationwide demographic exercises and provides comprehensive information on numbers and locations of children for school planning purposes. The data is considered to be reliable and accurate at the time at which it is provided and allows my Department to project likely demand across the 314 school planning areas. As the Deputy will appreciate, this data is subject to change for example where families relocate between the time the information is supplied and the following year's provision of updated Child Benefit data to my Department.
The Child Benefit data from DEASP as a source of information for our nationwide demographic exercises is used in conjunction with other sources of data such as information from local authorities on additional residential development in each area. The requirement for new schools is being kept under on-going review and in particular will have regard to the impact of the increased rollout of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.
