Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2024
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which she remains confident that she and her Department will be in a position to meet the full requirement of school places at primary and second level throughout Kildare and the rest of the country on time for September 2024 enrolment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6349/24]
View answerAs 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 Kildare, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity and identifies any requirement for additional provision. Additional provision is made as necessary, where the existing capacity is insufficient for future needs.
My Department is aware of pressures for school places in a number of areas including Kildare and a number of school planning areas throughout the country. A critical next step for the Department is to establish the actual number of additional first year places required for 2024 in order for an appropriate solution to be put in place. In that context, schools in a number of areas of enrolment pressure, including Kildare, have been requested to share data on applications for admissions. This data has been received by my officials and is currently being analysed with a view to establishing the actual requirement for places. Preliminary assessments indicate that duplications of applications, and applications from outside the local area, are contributing to enrolment pressures in the town.
My Department is working to clarify the actual requirement for additional school places and to identify particular further capacity requirements for 2024 and forthcoming years. My Department will engage with schools and patrons to put any required solutions in place - beyond those that are already in train - to ensure sufficient school places to meet the needs of students in the Kildare and throughout the country.
I can assure the Deputy that the Department will continue to work with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in Kildare and across the county for the 2024/25 school year and into the future.
