Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
44. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the degree to which adequate forward planning continues to take place in order to identify the number and location of primary and post-primary schools throughout the greater Dublin area and nationwide, having regard to population projections as identified by the local authorities through the core strategy figures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40012/20]
View answerMy Department undertakes forward planning activity on an on-going basis to identify future school requirements. My Department engages with the local authority statutory planning process, conducts its own demographic analysis, engages with local patrons and uses the combined information to project school place requirements .
In regard to the statutory planning process, the Core Strategy figures to which the Deputy refers, are published by the local authorities in their statutory plans and are required to be consistent with the National Planning Framework. In order to ensure this consistency, these statutory plans must include details of where future growth is to be distributed within the relevant area over the lifetime of the plan together with details of population and household projections and the quantum of lands to be zoned for residential and mixed uses. My Department engages actively with the statutory planning process and where future population projections for an area indicate the likely future need for a new school to serve that area, my Department requests that a school site be zoned in the statutory plan to cater for a future need.
Specifically, in regard to the greater Dublin area, the Dublin Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (MASP) indicates significant projected population growth in the Dublin Metropolitan Area with an overall population of 1.65m envisaged by 2031: an increase of 250,000 people from 2016. This projected increase is taken into account in the relevant statutory plans covering the area.
Simultaneously, in order to plan for school provision, my Department also engages in a more granular analysis of demographic data and residential development to identify where the pressure for school places in particular areas across the country will arise. This analysis utilises data such as child benefit data for a local area, engagement with local authorities in relation to residential development and engagement with local patrons. Such analysis continues to indicate increasing requirements for school places across the greater Dublin area. Where data indicates that additional provision is required at primary or post primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school (or schools),
- Extending the capacity of a school (or schools)
- Provision of a new school (or schools)
The requirement for additional school places is kept under on-going review and work on an updated exercise to assess needs for the coming years, including those which may arise in the greater Dublin area, is at an advanced stage.
