Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising the very important issue of extra places in secondary schools. I welcome everything the Minister has said. The development of the campus in Carrigtwohill is very positive. She mentioned Youghal, Cobh and a couple of other areas. Doing some maths quickly, I see there are to be approximately 3,000 extra places. At least the Department has acknowledged that the area is growing rapidly.

I echo Deputy Stanton's sentiment with regard to Educate Together. It has a very solid plan and is very driven. There also seems to be demand for a secondary school. As Deputy Stanton has said, we must be proactive rather than reactive on this issue. I have already mentioned that, with the constituency database, we will have more statistics on age demographics and so on. The stress on parents and families at the moment is immense. I would welcome any improvement with regard to additional secondary school places. Deputy Stanton and I are very aware that some secondary schools in Midleton cannot build up or out. Additional places are not on the cards this year. I appeal to the Minister for us to work together on this.

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