Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2022
454. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education if children arriving from Ukraine have guaranteed school places in north County Kildare given the number of schools that are at capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24465/22]
View answerI wish to thank the Deputy for her question.
My Department is currently working to support education provision for arriving children with immediate education needs. Utilisation of each school’s existing capacity in the most flexible way possible will be key to supporting Ukrainian children who are being enrolled in our schools.
Information available to my Department, including information from schools’ annual returns, national enrolments and a recent capacity survey at post-primary level indicates that there is available capacity within the existing school system, including north County Kildare.
Nevertheless, my Department is aware that at both primary and post-primary level there are significant variances in available capacity at local and regional level across the country.
Where capacity pressures arise, contingency arrangements will be put in place to support education provision for these students. The 16 Regional Education and Language Teams, or REALT, hosted by the regional Education and Training Boards, to support the needs of children from Ukraine arriving in Ireland will have a key role in managing these capacity pressures and will be supported in this by my Department which is making capacity information on the school system available to the REALT teams via the Geographical Information System.
