Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and for his offer at the end of his contribution. At least there is some progress and some definite information in that the NSEG is meeting next week. I assume it will make decisions at the meeting and immediately send its recommendations to the Minister, and that the Minister, as is the norm, will go along with the recommendations. I hope we will have news by the end of next week. If, by any chance, the NSEG is not in a position to make a decision on all the nine schools, I urge that it make a decision on the school in question, given that it is the most urgent one. I ask the Minister of State to convey this to the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, and the Department.

The Minister of State can imagine what it is like for parents. Every year, when they have to fill in these forms, public representatives in the area have very stressed parents coming into our offices. These parents say they do not know what to do, given that if they put down a certain school as their first choice they may not get it and their children may have to travel long distances to school.

Given that a new school is coming on stream, pressure will be eased in the part of the city that has been under the most pressure. Knowing that the school is coming on stream is a help in itself, but parents also need to know its patronage before it can be placed on their lists. We do not know what it will be, but some parents have certain preferences and its patronage will colour their decisions of whether to put the school first on their lists.

An urgent decision is needed. I welcome the Minister of State's positive response. I hope that he will convey the situation's urgency to his colleagues in the Department and to the Minister, Deputy Bruton.

See this speech in context