At the outset, I want to say that I am fully conscious that the Dublin 15 area as a whole is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the country and, as a result of this, there has been a marked increase in the demand for school places, particularly at primary level.
My Department is taking a number of measures to increase the capacity of existing schools in the area concerned along with the development of new schools to meet this growing demand.
The school referred to by the Deputy has recently moved into a new 24 classroom school and this will facilitate an annual three-stream junior infant intake. However, as an exceptional matter the board of management is in discussions with the school planning section of my Department regarding the possibility of enrolling a fourth stream of junior infants this year to cater for increased demand.
In parallel with this, my Department is currently in discussions with a second school in the area regarding the possibility of it expanding to cater for an annual four stream intake. The school currently has an intake of three junior infants classes. A building project to provide permanent accommodation for this level of expansion will be afforded the highest priority.
I am confident that a combination of the measures as outlined will assist in alleviating the demand for pupil places in the area in the short term. However, due to the unabating increase in demand for pupil places, the need to provide even further school accommodation is under active consideration in my Department.