Ms ?ine Cusack:

We may talk in numbers and statistics but we are acutely aware, when we talk about enrolment pressures, that behind each number are a child and a family, and it is a big and important step for them. In our engagement with stakeholders, we are very much focused on ensuring the child is at the centre. As the Deputy rightly said, duplications are drawn into an area from outside the locality. Even something such as a single-sex school can change a dynamic, generating long waiting lists and pressure for places.

The Deputy will be aware we have added significant capacity in east Cork over recent years and continue to do so. There is the Carrigtwohill post-primary school, which Mr. Loftus referenced, and we have delivered an extension to St. Colman's Community College. We also have projects in Cobh and others in Midleton and Carrigtwohill, all of which are proceeding. Based on our projections, we anticipate there could be between 1,000 and 1,500 surplus places in east Cork, although that is notwithstanding Ukrainian arrivals, which are putting pressure on, in particular, Youghal, where a significant number have been accommodated in Pobalscoil na Tríonóide. We anticipate that over the long term, there will be ample post-primary capacity. To be clear, those projections take into account Project Ireland 2040 population growth and housing targets will also have been factored in. We are conscious of the likes of the Water-Rock proposed development in Midleton and, as the Deputy will probably be aware, there is provision for both primary and post-primary sites there. That level of residential development, and of course the train station, may generate additional demand beyond what we have projected, so we are very much keeping pressures and developments such as that under review. Our GIS, and the information we have in that regard about residential development and completions, are very helpful to us anticipating that need. Moreover, our engagement with patrons in the area will be very much focused on garnering their local knowledge about pressures and so on. Nationally, in general, first-year pressures are anticipated to begin to ease, and we anticipate a reduction of about 7,500 of the first-year intake over the next six years or so, from a base of about 68,000. Notwithstanding that, we appreciate there will be local variances, and we will keep the situation in east Cork, like everywhere else, under review and monitor pressures as they emerge.