Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response which will provide a great deal of detail and clarity for many parents in the Greystones, Kilcoole and Delgany areas. I particularly welcome the progress being made with regard to the Greystones Educate Together school and the additional classroom space that will be made available to Gaelscoil na Clocha Liatha. I ask the Minister of State to take back to the officials in the Department of Education and Skills a number of options that need to be considered on a more ongoing basis. A number of well established schools in Greystones are having to turn students away each year. It is obvious that there is an element of parental choice in this regard. We need to make sure places are provided in locations that match the needs and choices of parents. The decision to sanction an extension at Kilcoole primary school is great news for the village. As it will not proceed until 2015, however, there is significant concern in Kilcoole that the waiting time is too long. I welcome the Department's decision to consider the provision of temporary accommodation at the school. I suggest the Department's forward planning section look at the project's date of delivery and consider whether there is room to move it forward. That is important. I would like the Minister of State to ask his officials to look at the catchment areas of existing schools. The boundaries of the town of Greystones have expanded significantly in recent years, but the enrolment policies of the schools of the town continue to reflect parish boundaries. The Department needs to have a conversation with the patron bodies on this matter. If we are to examine the expansion of some existing schools, the Department should initiate a conversation with them about the prospect of land acquisition, where that possibility arises into the future.

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