Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2016
272. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the M4/N4 report which dealt with an assessment of educational infrastructure in the Mullingar area; if in this context progress is being made in the provision of a secondary school for Kinnegad, County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30891/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's means of analysing demographic trends and data have changed considerably since the report to which the Deputy refers was completed in 2005.
For school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 geographic areas known as school planning areas. These defined areas facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. In identifying the requirement for additional school places in a school planning area, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The GIS uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic analyses to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Following the 2015 demographic analyses, four new primary schools and nine new post-primary schools will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. That announcement noted that a range of areas nationwide, including Kinnegad in the Killucan school planning area, are experiencing increased demographic pressures and would be kept under ongoing review. My Department is continuing to keep the school planning area under review, to take account of updated enrolment data and the impact of capacity increases in adjoining school planning areas.
