Written Answers. - Tallaght (Dublin) School Places.
Jim Mitchell
Ceist:
208
Mr. J. Mitchell
asked the
Minister for Education
if her attention has been drawn to the problem facing parents in the Kingswood and Killinarden areas of Dublin 24, in finding secondary school places for their children either in the area or on a convenient bus route from the area; if her attention has been further drawn to the fact that this is causing families to leave the Castleview parish and relocate elsewhere; if she has received an application for approval for a second level school in Kingswood; if she will give the go-ahead for such a secondary school for the coming academic year; and if she will give the projected numbers of children in the area who will be in need of second level places in September 1994 and in each of the following five years.
Kingswood and Killinarden are two distinct areas in Tallaght, County Dublin. Killinarden has a community school which can cater for all children leaving the primary schools in Killinarden. Children from the Kingswood area attend post-primary schools mainly in Greenhills, Drimnagh and Crumlin.
In 1987 the then Minister, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, decided that a school should be provided at Castleview, Tallaght, to cater for the Castleview-Kingswood-Kilnamanagh areas. The provision of this school has not been progressed to date by my Department for two main reasons: the continued availability of post-primary places in schools within a reasonable distance; the considerable capital expenditure involved set against the many urgent demands on the limited capital available to my Department.
My Department carries out a periodical review of the situation to ensure that adequate post-primary places are available to children from the Castleview-Kingswood — Kilnamanagh areas. The latest Department review, carried out in the current school year, confirms this to be the case. In that light, therefore, it is not proposed to proceed with the planning of the proposed school for Castleview at present.
I am not aware that families are leaving the Kingswood area specifically for the reason that parents cannot find places for their children in second level schools convenient to the area or on a convenient bus route from the area.
On the attached statement, which I propose to circulate in the Official Report, are set out up-to-date statistics of children leaving primary schools in the Kingswood, Castleview and Kilnamanagh areas who will be entering the post-primary sector over the next six years.
Projected Numbers of Children who will be leaving Primary Schools in the Kingswood, Castleview and Kilnamanagh Areas of Tallaght, Co. Dublin and entering the Post-Primary Sector in September 1994 and the following Five Years
|
Year
|
Kingswood-Castleview
|
Kilnamanagh
|
Total
|
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
|
|
1994
|
58
|
49
|
90
|
98
|
295
|
|
1995
|
78
|
50
|
96
|
86
|
310
|
|
1996
|
68
|
57
|
77
|
66
|
268
|
|
1997
|
58
|
47
|
81
|
74
|
260
|
|
1998
|
84
|
50
|
59
|
80
|
273
|
|
1999
|
59
|
68
|
64
|
60
|
251
|
