Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 June 2012
135 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views that his Department’s GPS system which tracks PPS numbers does not work for Gaelscoileanna and will he agree to look at anomalies and difficulties that parents are experiencing when trying to get children into a Gaelscoil in which there are not enough spaces to meet demand. [26146/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the deputy is aware, the Forward Planning Section of my Department utilises a Geographical Information System (GIS) to analyse demographic data in order to determine the areas where additional school accommodation may be required. A variety of sources are used in this analysis, including census data, school enrolment data, and child benefit data obtained from the Department of Social Protection.
It is anticipated that enrolment in primary and post-primary schools will grow by around 70,000 pupils between now and 2018 — by over 45,000 at primary level and 25,000 at post primary. It is expected that enrolments will continue to rise at post-primary level to the year 2024 at least.
In June 2011, I announced that 20 new primary and 20 new post-primary schools are to be established up to 2017 across a number of locations. I also announced new arrangements for the recognition and determination of patronage of these new primary and post-primary schools. The new arrangements published by my Department provide a balanced approach to allow applications to be made by prospective patrons for the establishment of schools. The criteria used in deciding patronage of the new schools place a particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage, which also includes preference for all-Irish school provision.
