Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2024
366. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which adequate school places remain available at Straffan, County Kildare; if she is mindful of the expanding population and the urgency to ensure the availability of sufficient such accommodation by September next; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16727/24]
View answerThe 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, 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.
Straffan is located in the Celbridge School Planning area. Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, including the Celbridge School Planning Area, 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 for the 2024/25 school year in North Kildare. As part of planning for September 2024, data on applications for admission has been received by the department from post-primary schools across areas of known enrolment pressure including Celbridge School Planning Area.
The sharing of this data has been very effective in the identification of school place requirements across the areas. In the majority of areas across Kildare, through the work of schools, patrons, management bodies and the Department, there are sufficient school places available to meet the needs of children in the area. The Department is working with schools and patrons to make additional places available in a small number of areas where a need has been identified. To date, additional 1st year places have been made available in Celbridge which has ensured there is sufficient capacity for September 2024 to meet the needs of all the local children.
The Deputy will appreciate that there can often be significant overlap across areas and schools and the nature of the admissions processes is quite complex. As a result there can be multiple iterations, where applicants may accept a place but subsequently be offered and accept a place at a second school, freeing up capacity at the first school accepted. In that context, while some applicants may not yet have received an offer of a school place for 2024/25, families can be assured that all children who require a school place will be provided with one. The Department is continuing to work with schools and patrons to ensure that there are sufficient school places available, and to put any required solutions in place. This includes engagement in areas which were not included in the more detailed data sharing arrangements for 2024/25. As part of this engagement with patrons, the Department is also collaboratively planning towards 2025/26 and future years, as part of forward planning generally.
The 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 4 mainstream classroom extension at Straffan National School and an extension to provide 2 Special education classrooms and 4 Resource rooms buildings in Salesian College, Celbridge. Additionally, further a new school building project has been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a bundled school building programmes. The schools will be delivered as part of a campus development at Donaghcumper, Celbridge. The project is currently at Stage 1 of the architectural design process.
The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, may be viewed on the Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
The picture in relation to school place requirements is very dynamic, noting that children may also move into an area during the course of the school year (including from overseas). This is a particular issue in parts of the country where expansion of residential development has been contributing to mid-year demand for places.
Department officials will continue to work with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in the Celbridge School Planning Area, including Staffan, for the 2024/25 school year and into the future.
