Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister and the Acting Chairman, Deputy Keating, will be aware, seven primary schools in the north Kildare area, including some on the periphery of that area, feed into the second level Gaelcholáiste in Lucan. In 2015, not one single solitary student from those schools will be accommodated in Lucan because there is simply no space at the school there. The aonad that is being provided as a substitute for the Gaelcholáiste option that was available before now is completely unacceptable to the vast majority of people. Not one single solitary place will be available to the children who will come out of the seven sixth classes in these schools in September and want to go on and study entirely through Irish. Such an option has been available up to now. The aonad is a complete insult to people. The Minister really needs to stop listening to the officials in her Department on this issue and start listening to people in north Kildare. I do not know where she is getting her numbers from. The open process that took place in the case of the post-primary school in Maynooth was a very limited process.

People want to see diversity in primary school education. That diversity should include cultural diversity. I have surveyed all the north Kildare schools and gaelscoileanna. The provision in those schools is totally inadequate. I know they have to exist side by side with the other schools. A sustainable solution must be found. The numbers being collected by the Department are wrong. We are going to put parents through unnecessary hardship as they worry about where their children will go to school. The Department will have to find a solution at the 11th hour. A much more comprehensive approach is needed. This area has one of the largest young populations in the country. That is why this is such a pivotal issue. The Minister is going to be inundated with correspondence from parents. She already is. I know I am. It is only the first school that has opened up. Essentially, all this argy-bargy will be going on. I believe the solution that will ultimately be found will include a third stream in Kilcock, for example. It will be resisted until the last minute. The forum is absolutely essential if we are to get any kind of understanding, rather than presuming everything is in place. The aonad is just an insult to parents who used to have a choice. The choice is being taken away and they are being told an aonad is the replacement. It is not good enough.

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