Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are 100 children on a waiting list at the moment. The person I spoke to is No. 24 on that list. Is the Minister suggesting that the capacity exists in a school in Swords to absorb 100 additional pupils? I do not think he is suggesting this and I do not think the school has this capacity. I put it to him that we have a particular problem in north County Dublin that extends beyond Swords. It concerns the age of the population there. It is a serious issue.

I am still not sure what I will say to those parents who are deeply distressed and not just because their children cannot go to the local school. There are parents who have tried schools in the area and who cannot get their children admitted. This is only February. My prediction is that this will get worse because more parents are going to hear about it as these things happen. They are going to pick up the phone and question the school and they are going to be told the same thing. If a person is No. 24 on a waiting list of 100, I do not think the Minister is suggesting that those 100 pupils can be accommodated in the one school in Swords that has a bit of capacity. Perhaps the Minister could indicate if he has information because the information I have relates to discussions I have had with individual schools. All of the policies prohibit canvassing so, clearly, we are not going to get into that space. Does the Minister have an idea-----

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