Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 1 Mar 1994

Vol. 439 No. 5

Written Answers. - Wicklow School Transport.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

227 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Education, in view of her decision to deal with the transport problems being experienced by children in Kilcoole, County Wicklow, if she will give a commitment in writing that transport is to be supplied to the parents without delay; if the present catchment areas are to be changed to include Kilcoole, Kilpeddar and Kilquade as these are the areas affected by the dispute; if she intends to specify the pick-up points for children in stated areas; and if any children from these areas who have been refused entry into St. David's School, Greystones, County Wicklow will be provided with transport to schools in Wicklow town.

Minister for Education (Ms Bhreathnach)

My Department is in the process of having the necessary practical arrangements made, so that catchment boundary transport may be provided for the pupils who were the subject of previous parliamentary questions. It will not be possible to introduce this before the start of the next school term.

The arrangements will be subject to review, following completion of the Department's assessment of the application for a new second-level school in Kilcoole, and of the medium-term demands for accommodation in the Bray/Greystones and Wicklow catchment areas.

The question of revision of the catchment boundaries to include Kilcoole, Kilpeddar and Kilquade will be included in the review of the post-primary requirements of the general Bray, Greystones and Wicklow areas, which is currently being carried out in the planning section of my Department. Pending completion of this review, Kilcoole, Kilpeddar and Kilquade will continue to be in the Bray/Greystones catchment area, and the catchment boundary pick-up point will remain the same — at Newtownmountkennedy.

Eleven pupils from these localities belong to the Bray/Greystones catchment area and are entitled to transport to all post-primary schools in that area — not just the school of their choice. The purpose of having a catchment area is to ensure the continuing viability of all schools in an orderly fashion, to provide a good education for children, and so to protect employment.