Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I thank the Deputy for raising it as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the current position regarding the provision of new post-primary schools.

Our school-going population has increased significantly in recent years and is expected to continue to increase over the coming years. It is anticipated that at post-primary level an additional 24,900 pupils will need school places by 2017 with a further 40,800 pupils needing places between 2017 and 2024, based on the Department's statistics.

The figures I have outlined indicate the situation at national level. The challenge for the Department is to establish in which locations the school-going cohort will increase most significantly so that sufficient school accommodation can be put in place to meet demand. The Department is utilising a geographical information system, GIS, for this purpose. The GIS utilises data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the General Register Office and the Department of Social Protection in addition to the Department's own databases and data from the local authorities. The Department has carried out a study of the country to identify where there will be a requirement for significant additional school provision at both primary and post primary levels over the coming years.

In June of 2011 the Minister announced that up to 40 new schools are to be established within the next six years to meet our increased demographics. These consist of 20 new primary schools and 20 new post-primary schools. This announcement did not include a proposal to establish a new post-primary school for Dublin 1, 3, 7 or 9. The Minister also announced new arrangements for the recognition and determination of patronage of these new primary and post-primary schools. The new arrangements published by the Department provide a balanced approach to allow applications to be made by prospective patrons for the establishment of schools. The criteria used in deciding patronage of the new schools place a particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage.

The Department's forward planning section will continue to monitor enrolments in this area to ensure there is sufficient post-primary school accommodation to meet any projected future demands.

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