Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
272. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which progress in the provision of Gaelcholáiste, Maynooth, County Kildare is in line with expectations at Prosperous, County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45311/23]
View answerI am pleased to advise that the building project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved for delivery to Kildare & Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB).
KWETB will procure a design team for the project to design the buildings, obtain the necessary statutory planning permissions, and move the project onward to tender and construction in due course. As the project is at an early stage in the delivery process, it is not possible at this time to give a timeline for its completion. The ETB will engage directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.
As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System (or GIS) 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. In addition, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department’s projections of school place requirements.
Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, including North Kildare areas, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity and identifies any requirement for additional provision.
It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not always be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by factors such as duplication of applications or school of choice - this is, where pupils can't get a place in their preferred school but there are places in other schools in the area.
Through engagement with school authorities and patrons, and having accounted for factors such as duplication of applications, my Department has established that a requirement exists for increased provision at schools in North Kildare.
My officials are leading engagement with the relevant school patrons and authorities to put the necessary solutions in place for the 2024/25 and future school years. This includes the use of existing spare capacity, sanctioning of works to existing accommodation, and the accelerated provision of modular accommodation.
My Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Under the National Development Plan, a total of almost €250m has been invested in schools in County Kildare over the last five years. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for its increasing population and there are further significant projects in our pipeline including for the North Kildare area.
These projects include recently completed new school buildings in Maynooth and Naas. Additionally, a number of further new school buildings and extensions are at construction or planned, including in Prosperous and Maynooth.
