Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response and for responding directly to the issues I raised. I have a problem with the official response that the Minister did not read in that the Department gave me a history lesson in terms of the places it did provide. The class spaces the Minister provided are very much appreciated but they have been taken. The schools have provided the Department with as much flexibility as they can within the existing campus sites in terms of accommodating additional students. I still do not know, but much more importantly, the parents of children in Greystones, Delgany and Kilcoole who do not have a place today still do not know whether they will have a place.

The line from the Department which has been frustrating me for some time is that the schools in the area are engaging with each other in the context of addressing enrolment demand for September 2014. Could we try to put some meat on what exactly that means? I would be extremely grateful if in the coming days somebody in the Department could liaise with me and the other Deputies for the Wicklow constituency to explain exactly where we are at, because this is a very time-sensitive situation as schools will shortly shut down for the summer and we must resolve the issue.

I also wish to refer to the need for an additional school or for an existing school to move to a larger site in the Charlesland area. That is something the Minister might ask his officials to examine. The Minister is bang on the money in terms of what we need to do at a local level. As part of local government reform, those whom we elect at local level must accept the responsibilities they have, but they must also be given more responsibilities in terms of ensuring there are adequate school places and sites and that there is a waiting list structure. It is not adequate to be told that the schools are still working on the issue because September 2014 is very nearly here and we need to be able to give clarity to parents as to whether their child will have a place in any school, in particular a place in a school of their choice. The Minister shares my view that plurality and a choice of ethos is important to parents as the primary educators of children in this country.

See this speech in context