Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have one very specific issue to raise with the Minister and hopefully he will have time to respond. It relates to the lack of secondary school places in Kilkenny city.

I have spoken to the Minister and his officials about three boys and have received a response. I have the permission of the families to raise this issue. Zach, Cathay and Abudi, all of whom attend St. Canice's primary school in Kilkenny city, cannot access secondary school places for September in the city. In two of the cases, the mothers of the children do not drive and their fathers are working away from home. In one case, both parents are working in a hospital, are on call, work difficult hours and have other children. Sending children outside the city for school is not ideal.

When I raised this issue, I received a reply to the effect that they were entitled to appeal the decision. We went through that process and they received replies from the Department of Education and Skills stating that the appeals had not been accepted because they were out of time. It should be bourne in mind that this was during the pandemic and school places for secondary schools are usually announced in February and March. The three families are under a lot of stress. I imagine that many other families are in this position because this issue arises every year in Kilkenny. A secondary school is needed.

Will the Minister give a commitment to look into the three cases I have mentioned? His Department has the information. I asked last week what happens when a parent is told that he or she cannot appeal a decision and I did not receive a reply. I do not want the parents to go through an appeals process if it will not result in anything. Can something be done to help these families? All of the children in sixth class have not had the opportunity to finish school and say goodbye to friends. They are at a stage in their lives where they should be excited about the next chapter. These boys do not even know what school they will be attending. It is now June and secondary schools will restart in some shape or form at the end of August. These children need some sort of help and intervention. One of the boys told me that he is nervous, would have no friends and would not know anybody. When the parents looked at schools outside the city they were told they were not entitled to transport because they would be seen as technically sending their children outside the catchment area, which would cause a whole bunch of problems.

I would like to explore how we can get another secondary school for Kilkenny city. There is no second level school in the eastern part of the city. We do not have an Educate Together secondary school. This could be a good opportunity for something like that and would take pressure off all secondary schools in the city. I do not want to have to talk about this year in and year out, and I am quite sure the Minister feels the same. I would like to be part of the long-term solution and see whether there is some way I could meet people in the Department to discuss how we can explore opening another secondary school in the city.

That will not help Zach, Cathay and Abudi and I would like somebody from the Department to consider their case and understand the stress, worry and anxiety the parents and children are under. It is not a nice time for them. My son started secondary school last year and I know the nervousness that children have about that, even when they know everything about their school, uniform and all of the rest that goes with that for that age group. Unfortunately, a lack of secondary school places seems to affect boys in primary schools in Kilkenny in particular. I ask the Minister to look into the matter.

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