Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
371. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education he position regarding a new school building for a school (details supplied); the timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14675/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform my Department's projections of school place requirements.
Newtownmountkennedy is in the Kilcoole school planning area. The most recent projections indicate an increase in requirements at post primary level up to 2026 followed by a projected reduction in enrolments thereafter.
However, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:
- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area
- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area
- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils
- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area
As the Deputy may be aware, a major building project for the existing post primary school, Coláiste Chraobh Abhann , Kilcoole, Co.Wicklow is included in my Department's school building programme. The project is currently at Stage 2b (detailed design). When the project is completed, the school will have capacity to accommodate 1,000 pupils as well as classes for pupils with special education needs.
In addition, the Deputy will be aware , since April 2018, the Government announced plans for the establishment of 47 new schools. This included a new post primary school for the Kilcoole and Greystones school planning area as a regional solution and the school, Greystones Community College, opened in interim accommodation for the 2020/2021 academic year. The building project, to construct a permanent school building, which will have capacity for 1,000 pupils as well as accommodation for pupils with special education needs is currently at stage 2b (detailed design).
A building project for St David's Secondary School, Greystones is currently under construction, currently at stage 4 and when completed will provide capacity for 750 pupils. My Department is satisfied that the delivery of these building projects will cater for future demand in the area in the short to medium term.
The requirement for additional school places is kept under on-going review, including those which may arise in the Kilcoole school planning area. Additionally, my Department will continue to liaise with Wicklow County Council in respect of its review of the County Development Plan with a view to identifying any potential long-term school accommodation requirements across the county.
