Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the witnesses for being here. We had, as they are probably aware, other bodies in earlier and some parents’ representatives. I can safely say the message we got loud and clear was that parental engagement is key to solving the issues in the system. I was glad to hear some of the comments in the opening statement, but concrete efforts need to be made to engage with those parents. What further measures, if any, will the NCSE be implementing?

Of the 399 classes that have been sanctioned, how many are physically ready and how many will be ready by September? How many are staffed? How many will actually welcome students in September or perhaps later in the academic year, as was suggested to us earlier? Most important, how many have no timeline or are there any that the witnesses are not just not sure when they will open?

There is a school in my constituency of Meath West, in Athboy, that was ready to open a class and pushed hard through many different channels, including me, to ask the NCSE to sanction the class. It would have stopped children travelling from Oldcastle through Athboy to get to Nobber, which although it is still Meath, is technically in the separate constituency of Meath East. Those children are travelling 45 minutes. They would have to travel 30 minutes to get to Athboy, which is still too far. Just because we are providing children with a school place, it does not necessarily mean it is in the right place. I stress how important it is that our children are educated locally, ideally with their siblings. Ironically, the school in question has to open a class now because of the new rules. On the basis of its size, it will need a fourth class anyway. This year, the parents and children have missed out, which is heartbreaking.

I will stop talking because I got caught out the last time. If the witnesses can answer any of those questions, it would be great.