Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This week in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, the local community learned important information about the arrangements for a new school via social media through a tweet with a picture of a letter giving vague information about the securing of a site for a new school due to open in September with no indication of who had written or signed the letter. This was the first that many concerned residents learned about the plans for the school site. Was the Minister for Education and Skills aware that this information was being given out in this manner? If he was, did he send this letter on to certain elected representatives? How did he determine who should be updated on this?

It is not the first time this has happened in our constituency. In the past schooling arrangement announcements have been distributed first on social media before even the schools have been told, before parents and children have been told and before the local community has been properly informed. There is an urgent need to overhaul how new schools are announced. Currently they are announced with great fanfare without even the sites secured, which causes serious confusion for the local community. I have raised this with the Minister, Deputy McHugh, and previously with the then Minister, Deputy Bruton.

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