Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 November 2022
116. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the steps she will take to remedy a shortfall of places at a second level school campus in Maynooth, County Kildare; and the steps persons can take if they fail to secure a place in the school via a lottery system despite meeting all entry requirements (details supplied). [59778/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform my Department's projections of school place requirements. Projections of post primary school place requirements are informed by multiple factors, including primary school enrolments in the area and primary to post primary transfer patterns.
My Department's projections of post primary school place requirements in Maynooth show some continued growth in overall enrolments in the short- to medium-term. However, despite projected overall growth, first year place requirements are anticipated to remain generally stable.
While my Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in Maynooth, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:
- Duplication of applications - pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area
- School of choice – pupils cannot get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area
- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils
- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area
My Department is working to establish the true extent of any capacity issues across school planning areas through ongoing discussions with the relevant school patrons and authorities.
This close engagement will allow my Department to identify at an early stage particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming years which may necessitate further action to that already in train including, where required, the provision of modular accommodation solutions.
Maynooth Post Primary School recently completed a project which provided for a total enrolment capacity of 1000 pupils and 2 classrooms for students with special education needs.
Maynooth Community College also recently completed a project which provided for a total enrolment capacity of 1,000 pupils and 2 classrooms for students with special education needs.
Gael Coláiste Mhaigh Nuad also currently has a project at project brief stage.
The requirement for additional school places is kept under on-going review. Additionally, my Department will continue to liaise with the Local Authority in respect of its review of Development Plans with a view to identifying any potential long-term school accommodation requirements.
