Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue I have been trying to raise for the past three weeks on the Topical Issues debate. Since August 2016, I have raised the lack of secondary school places in east Cork. Unfortunately, this arises every year. In March 2020, I raised the issue of 200 children in east Cork who could not get to school because of transport problems. In June 2019, I raised the problems with planning for a three-school campus in Carrigtwohill. Now I am being contacted by parents who are very stressed and anxious, as are the children, that they face problems getting children into secondary school next year. I have spoken to many principals who have borne the brunt of parents' frustrations because the children cannot get a place in schools and they are getting the blame.

Will the Department step up to the plate and take responsibility to support the principals, and to support the families and provide adequate places in the schools? East Cork school places are oversubscribed and under-resourced. I ask the Tánaiste to get the Department to address this so that we do not have to face this problem again.

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