Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 April 2024
178. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No.119 of 11 April 2024, if she will arrange for a further response to issue to follow-up queries (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17090/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool Planning Areas and school catchment areas are not the same. The Department uses School Planning Areas to plan for school place provision nationally. The country is divided into 314 School Planning Areas for these purposes. The Department uses a Geographic Information System, drawing data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
School catchment areas, meanwhile, are set by a Board of Management on behalf of the school patron. The Department does not have a role in setting school catchment areas.
The town of Monasterboice is in the Dunleer school planning area. Ballymakenny College is in the Drogheda school planning area. The school was established in 2014 due to the Demographic requirements for the Drogheda school planning area.
New schools established since 2011 to meet demographic demand such as Ballymakenny College, are required, in the first instance, 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 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. Where there are spaces available, applicants for enrolment should be admitted by the school ( in accordance with any further prioritisation determined by the school).
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school.
Further information on the Section 29 appeals process is available on my Department's website, www.education.ie. The Education Welfare Service (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-7718500.
