Vol. 415 No. 1
427 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Education when a decision will be made on the proposed rationalisation of second level education at Portlaoise, County Laois; and if, in view of widespread anxiety, confusion and rumour this matter will be cleared up at the earliest possible opportunity in the interests of parents, teachers and children.
There are three post-primary schools in Portlaoise town with a total enrolment in the current school year of 1,103 pupils. Major building projects had been mooted for two of the schools — the CBS and the vocational school. In accordance with standard practice, discussions were initiated with the school managements on the issue of rationalisation.
The need for rationalisation has been accepted by the managements of all three post-primary schools in the town and discussions and consultations among all the interested parties, including parents and teachers, have been conducted at local level in recent years. My predecessor, Deputy O'Rourke, had separate meetings with representatives of the managements with a view to encouraging local consensus and agreement on the future provision of post-primary facilities in Portlaoise.
Unfortunately, however, such local consensus did not emerge and, following full consideration of all aspects of the matter, she decided last August to engage independent consultants to undertake a study of the required post-primary provision in Portlaoise.
