Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 June 2019
60. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the proposed new post-primary school panned for the Citywest and Saggart area is to be located on land owned by the ETB; and if it will influence the patronage process of the proposed post-primary school. [27228/19]
View answerI can confirm that it is proposed that the new post-primary school for Citywest will be built on an ETB-owned site at Fortunestown Lane, on which two existing primary schools are currently temporarily located.
A patronage process for the new post-primary school in Citywest/Saggart, will be run later this year, significantly ahead of its due opening. This patronage process will be open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. Parental preferences for each patron, from parents of children who reside in the school planning areas concerned, together with the extent of diversity currently available in these areas, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of this process.
The new Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been developed by my Department to provide objective information to all parents and guardians which will allow them to make an informed choice in expressing a preference for their preferred model of patronage for their child’s education.
The patronage process for new schools is overseen by an external independent advisory group, the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG). Following their consideration of my Department’s assessment reports, the NSEG will submit a report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision. The assessment reports and the NSEG recommendations for all such patronage processes are made available on my Department's website.
Updates in relation to further patronage processes will be announced on the OPPS website (https://patronage.education.gov.ie/) and my Department’s website (www.education.ie).
