Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
525. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the status of the planning for a new secondary school (details supplied), and if her Department has had an update on new developments under construction or in the pipeline which will drive pupil numbers. [14944/24]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the Department.
As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, the Department of Education 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. Additionally, 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, the Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity within that particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand. Additional provision is made as necessary, where the existing capacity is insufficient for future needs.
Major new residential developments have the potential to alter the demand for school places at a local level. In that regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, my Department monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector. This involves the analysis of data sources from Local Authorities and the CSO along with the engagement with local authorities and the construction sector. In this way, up-to-date information on significant new residential developments is obtained and factored into the demographic analysis exercise. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes, at a local level, where there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development.
My Department is satisfied that the existing demand can be accommodated at present by the existing and growing schools in the school planning areas. As a result, the establishment of the planned new school has been deferred.
In this context, the timing of the establishment of this school is being kept under review in the context of demographic analysis and the pace of residential development in the area.
