Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to remind the House of the significant challenges we face in meeting increasing demand for pupil places throughout the country in the coming years and to explain how this will be addressed.

We remain in an era of significant growth in the school going cohort at both primary and post-primary level.

At post-primary level, it is projected that almost 33,000 extra places will be needed between 2013 and 2020. Post-primary enrolment is set to continue to rise until 2025 at least with some 71,698 extra places being needed between 2013 and that time. Up to 2020, this increase in pupil numbers at post-primary level is the equivalent of up to 33 new 1,000 pupil post-primary schools.

The Deputy probably knows the Department uses a geographical information system, GIS, to identify where the pressure for school places will arise. The GIS uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, and the Department of Social Protection in addition to the Department's databases. It also uses data from local authorities.

With this information, the Department is in the process of carrying out a nationwide demographic analysis to determine where additional post-primary accommodation may be needed from 2017 onwards. This is a significant exercise and is continuing. When the exercise has been completed arrangements will be made to make additional accommodation available where it is needed. However, the needs of the Kinnegad area are included in this nationwide demographic review.

In June 2011, the Minister announced the need for the establishment of some 20 new post-primary schools to cater for increased demographics across a number of locations up to 2017. This announcement did not include a proposal to establish a new post-primary school in Kinnegad, as the demographics of the area did not support the need for a new second level school.

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