Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue and the wider issue of catchment boundaries which is causing a dilemma for many parents and their children. In County Limerick and up and down the country the boundaries as presently constituted are outdated. They were drawn up 20, 30 or 40 years ago and do not reflect the demographics, geographical spread of people and population centres in County Limerick. Many parents who work long and hard are severely affected by the effect on school transport of the catchment boundaries.

I have been contacted by the parents and friends association of Caherconlish national school in county Limerick with their concerns on their location within the catchment areas in County Limerick and its impact on Limerick city catchment areas. Approximately 12 km from Limerick city, Caherconlish is growing as a population centre. At the 2002 census it had a population of 618 people and this is predicted to rise to approximately 2,200 people by 2011. Approximately 90 children attend the school in the village but this number is predicted to rise substantially in the near future. In the past year there were approximately 60 baptisms in the parish. That gives an indication of the present and predicted size of the population centre. Caherconlish is in the Limerick city catchment area but the parents feel that due to the admissions policy of the various schools in the Limerick city area, it is almost impossible for children from the Caherconlish area attending national school in Caherconlish to access appropriate second level education in Limerick city. Parents from Caherconlish and the wider area feel that competition in the Limerick city schools placement process is not on a level playing pitch at the moment, and they are seeking change. Children from Caherconlish currently seem to attend secondary school in Doon and Cappamore, which are approximately 20 km to 30 km from the village. They also attend Saint John the Baptist Community School in Hospital, which is approximately 10 km from the village. As they are not part of the catchment area of that school, there is no provision for transport for children from the Caherconlish area. The parents must rely on the goodwill of neighbours and must plan transportation themselves, which impacts greatly on their daily lives. They asked the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science to seriously consider the idea of extending the catchment area of the school to include Caherconlish, so that the pupils from Caherconlish could have the opportunity to avail of school transport. They should not have to rely on concessionary arrangements which arise whenever there is spare capacity in the transport provided.

I have been asked to raise this issue on behalf of the parents and friends association of Caherconlish national school. It is a very important issue and it mirrors quite a number of areas around County Limerick and probably up and down the country. In my home parish of Patrickswell, I have a number of constituents who are in a similar situation as they live outside the catchment area of Coláiste Chiarán in Croom. We would be grateful if the Minister and the Department could give consideration to this through the review process of the catchment areas, which is also being conducted by Deputy Paul Gogarty in the Joint Committee on Education and Science. I hope the process adequately reflects the demographics on the ground in County Limerick.

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