Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 June 2024
148. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the allocation of the remaining secondary school places for pupils in the Greystones area as there are currently a number of pupils yet to receive a secondary school place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25991/24]
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.
The Department is aware of pressures for school places for the 2024/25 school year in Greystones and Department officials are continuing to engage with Patrons to ensure all pupils from the Greystones area receive a first year place.
Following further consultation with Patrons in the Greystones school planning area, Greystones Community College has increased their intake by an additional class group for first year in 2024/25. The school, its Board of Management and Kildare and Wicklow ETB are making this additional provision in recognition of the best interests of the community in Greystones and this is very much welcomed by the Department. Following on from the recent issue of the letter of intent to the successful contractor, the Department continues to work to advance the new school building project for Greystones Community College to enable the letter of acceptance to be issued and then thereafter for construction to commence as soon as possible. My Department will continue to engage with KWETB to ensure that the school’s accommodation needs will continue to be met pending the completion of the new school, particularly in the context of the increased enrolment.
Planning for 2025/26 first year place needs in Greystones has already commenced, including direct engagement with patrons. Furthermore, and as part of its forward planning, my Department has also requested all of the patrons in Greystones and Kilcoole to consider how the admissions process for their schools could be improved for the 2025/26 first year intake. My Department has offered its support in this regard.
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.
My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.
Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
There are currently a number of active projects at primary and post-primary level in the Greystones school planning area which will increase local capacity. 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.
In relation to the permanent building project for Greystones Community College, this project will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school and accommodation, including 4 classrooms, for children with special educational needs and is currently at Stage 3, tender stage.
With regards to project delivery, my Department recently announced the issuing of Letters of Intent to successful contractors for Lot 6 of the Department’s Design & Build programme comprising 10 schools, including 3 campus projects, across two different bundles. One of these bundles includes the 1,000-student school for Greystones Community College. This is one of the largest bundles of new school projects undertaken to date by the Department of Education, comprising some 83,000m2 of new state of the art facilities catering for almost 8,000 students including facilities for special classes. These new school buildings are flagship developments in their area and will provide new and modern facilities to help cater for growing populations due to significant rollout of housing developments. The new 1,000 student school for Greystones Community College is a top priority for delivery within this programme. The issue of the Letters of Intent is a significant milestone in the progression of these important flagship projects. The next major milestone will be the issue of the Letters of Acceptance to the successful contractors. This will be done following further engagement with the successful contractors in relation to their tenders for the design and construction of the new schools. This engagement will also provide clarity on the contractor’s programme of works for the delivery of the projects and their timelines in respect of same.
Department officials will continue to actively engage with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in Greystones for the 2024/25 school year and into the future. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that all of the children in the Greystones school planning area will receive a first year place.
