Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 July 2018
92. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 376 of 12 June 2018, if primary school children in Dublin 8 and 12 will be able to access a school (details supplied); and if not, the location in which they can access secondary education. [29235/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra93. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to establish an Educate Together school in Dublin 12 to cater for the growing demand for non-denominational school places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29416/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra118. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will meet with parents and campaigners from a school (details supplied) to discuss concerns about places and capacity in non-denominational schools in the area. [29414/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 92, 93 and 118 together.
As the Deputies will be aware, in November 2016, I announced the patronage of a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2018 to serve the Dublin South City Centre area. This new school, which will be a co-educational, multi-denominational school under the patronage of Educate Together, will serve the Dublin _8 school planning area, along with the Dublin 2_Dublin 4 and Dublin 6_Clonskeagh school planning areas as a regional solution.
More recently, in April 2018, I announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022), including new post-primary schools for areas adjacent to Dublin 8 and Dublin 12 as follows:
- new 1,000 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2020 as a regional solution to serve the Dublin 6_Clonskeagh and Dublin_6W school planning areas.
- new 600 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2021 to serve the Dublin 2_Dublin 4 school planning area.
These new schools will reduce any pressure on schools in the adjacent school planning areas, including the Dublin 8 and 12 areas. It is important to note that the patronage of these new schools has not yet been decided.
A patronage process, which will be open to all patron bodies, will be run by my Department to decide who will operate these schools. Parental preferences for each patron and for the language of instruction, from parents of children who reside in the school planning areas concerned, together with the extent of diversity currently available in these areas, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of this process.
All new schools established since 2011 to meet demographic demand are required to prioritise pupil applications from within the designated school planning area(s) which the school was established to serve. This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the designated school planning area where they have sufficient places, rather it reflects the need to accommodate in the first instance the demographic for which the school was established. My Department’s priority is ensuring all pupils have access to a school place which unfortunately may not always result in a school place that is their first choice.
