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

I understand that the Minister, Deputy McHugh, cannot be here. I do not mean to be disrespectful to the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, when I say it is disappointing that he is not here to hear what we have to say. I have raised this issue with him on several occasions.

I would like to give an example to illustrate the point I am making. I will not use the child's name. His parents have written to me to say it is a source of great ongoing concern for them that their son cannot get a place in the local school. They have a connection to the school that goes back to its original foundation as a De La Salle school in 1947. They have relatives who attended the school throughout the intervening period. They have tried to secure an alternative place in other schools. More than 190 children are on the waiting list for Ardgillan community college and more than 70 children are on the waiting list for St. Joseph's secondary school in Rush. This boy is at the bottom of the list because he does not attend any of the feeder schools for those two schools. Another parent has corresponded with me to say that when the first lottery was done, she got a letter to say that her son was in 17th position on the waiting list. She had her fingers crossed in the hope that some girls would choose to go to Loreto and her son would still get a place. Just eight places were offered in the second round. The boy in question is now in seventh position on the waiting list. His parents are gravely concerned.

I have received a response to a parliamentary question confirming that the Department has received an application for additional accommodation from Skerries community college. Will that additional accommodation be in place in time for the September 2020 intake? Parents are already gravely concerned not just that their kids cannot go to the local school, but that there will no school places at all for them. It is unacceptable that we are finding ourselves in such a situation. This issue has been raised because north County Dublin is a growing area. As I live in Skerries, I know that building is going on all over the locality. There does not seem to be any sense of urgency on the part of the Department to get schools built and to accommodate these children.

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