Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The data are provided. There are 11 post-primary schools with 6,168 pupils. Capacity in the area, with the inclusion of the two new schools, is 6,711, or 540 additional places over and above current enrolments. As the Deputy said, two of the schools are new. The Department does not select individual patrons. We have a patronage competition. We do not indicate whether it should be this patron or not; we have a competition. In the case of one of the schools, there was a patronage process and the other school came in before there was a patronage competition. They are both multidenominational schools under the patronage of the ETB. The two new schools are multidenominational schools. We apply the same rules in every catchment area. This is not discriminating against one or another. The data presented to me show that there are approximately 500 places available over and above current enrolments in the post-primary catchment area. Of course, when a new school is needed, it will be open to a patronage competition in which the view of the parents will prevail.

See this speech in context