Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Yet again I raise the issue of school places at primary level in Dublin 15. It is hard to believe the Minister for Education and Science and this Government can act so callously as to deprive small children of a place in primary school. However, this is precisely what the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, and her junior Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, are doing in Littlepace, Castaheaney, Ongar, Diswellstown, Tyrellstown and in many other areas of Dublin 15. Parents are being left in limbo as to whether their child will get a place in primary school in September 2005. What is happening is not acceptable in any country least of all in a wealthy country such as Ireland.

The Minister for Education and Science seems to have a callous disregard for the needs of the children of Dublin 15. For Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, the needs of millionaire property developers seem to come before those of school children and their parents. I have been inundated with complaints from very distressed parents who in good faith put their child's name down in the local school — in some cases, the month their child was born four and a half years ago — expecting to get a place but who have now been told that because of the huge number of children looking for places, their child cannot be accommodated even though they have visited the school every year for four years since the child was born. This is a crisis.

Mary Mother of Hope national school, Littlepace, Dublin 15, has only been able to accept 90 children, that is, three streams of junior infants, while more than 200 children applied for places. More than 100 children have been told to go away and that there is no place for them. St. Patrick's national school, Diswellstown, Castleknock, has only been able to accept 90 junior infants while at the moment, its applications are running between 140 and 160.

The new Castaheaney Educate Together school is also facing an uncertain September. The number of places is oversubscribed. At present the school children are being bussed to Lucan. The Minister has said she will get a school site but as yet neither she nor her Department has moved to acquire a site. It is getting very late in the year even to put a prefab on a site and get it ready for September. Other primary schools throughout Dublin 15 are inundated with requests from parents for places next September.

The Minister for Education and Science, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats have allowed the situation with primary school places in Dublin 15 to slide into chaos once more with huge upset being caused to children and parents. Given what we were told the Government learned during the by-elections in Meath and North Kildare about the increased population and all the new building and housing, we thought that something would have been done. I call on the Minister for Education and Science to establish a task force as a matter of urgency to deal with the crisis in school places manifesting itself in the Dublin 15 area and which will be truly dreadful for parents and children come next September.

I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, has come to the House with good news rather than more hand-wringing and saying he is sorry but the Government did not know an extra 10,000 houses were being built over the past five years in this school catchment area.

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