Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
433. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education if she has considered the merits of establishing a Gaelcholáiste for the students of a school (details supplied) in their school area given that there are 44 English-medium post-primary schools in the same school area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28113/22]
View answer434. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education if she intends to set-up a Gaelcholáiste for the students of a school (details supplied) in their own school area; if so, the timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28114/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 433 and 434 together.
As part of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, my Department has committed to creating opportunities for expanding Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht in the context of the announcements since April 2018 on the establishment of 47 new schools from 2019, which affords particular consideration to the establishment of Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcholáistí, and Aonaid Lán-Ghaeilge as part of the patronage process for new schools.
New schools are established by the Department on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area, and after consideration of the capacity of existing schools to absorb the expected school place demand.
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, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, the Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date information on significant new residential development in each area.
The Department additionally consults with school patron bodies in order to identify areas with pressures on enrolments.
Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, be provided through:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
A patronage process is run after it has been decided, based on demographic analysis, that a new school is required. The patronage process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. The Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been developed by my Department to provide objective information to parents which will allow them to make an informed choice about their preferred model of patronage as well as language of instruction, i.e. Irish or English, of new schools. Parental preferences, as well as other considerations such as the extent of diversity of provision in an area (including Irish-medium provision), are key to the decision-making process and to whether at post-primary level a school would take the form of an Irish-medium Gaelcholáiste or whether, if English-medium, the school would include an Irish-medium unit or “Aonad”.
Most new post-primary schools must have a student enrolment capacity of 600 – 1,000 students. A lower threshold of 400 students may apply to Gaelcholáistí, having regard to the alternative of establishing an Aonad within a school.
Regarding the area referred to by the Deputy, the year of establishment, patronage model and language of instruction have yet to be determined for the new post-primary schools announced to serve the following school planning areas in the general South Dublin area: Dublin 2_Dublin 4 and Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/Cherrywood.
While it is expected that the existing Gaelcholáistí in the general South Dublin area between them have sufficient school places to accommodate the level of demand identified as part of the recent patronage processes in the short term, given the number of new gaelscoileanna which have opened in recent years or are planned to open in this area, my Department is keeping the position under active review as these schools grow and the number of sixth class pupils in gaelscoileanna increases.
In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area. Nonetheless, where a school is oversubscribed some pupils may not obtain a place in the school.
The Act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied, post-primary schools can give a priority to a gaelscoil/gaelscoilleanna as a selection criterion, and this is permitted under the act, schools can apply this as a criterion should they wish to do so. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves.
There is an additional provision in the Act that allows Irish-medium schools, where it is their policy to do so, to include in their admission policy a priority for the admission of a student who has attained a reasonable age appropriate level of oral fluency in the Irish language and where that student’s fluency would be at risk of regressing if the student was not admitted to an Irish medium school. This provision recognises the difficulties that applicants may experience in accessing schools that provide an education though the medium of Irish.
