James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and his kind words and acknowledgement concerning my work in north Kildare. Laois in his own constituency is experiencing similar growing pains, which the Minister of State advocates on regularly.

I am aware of the projects the Minister of State mentioned and there has been investment in a number of schools in north Kildare. If these were all new projects about to come on line, I would look forward to a future with them open, but many of them are already up and running. Maynooth Post-Primary School and Maynooth Community College have been open for a couple of years. Naas Community College is open. I attended its opening with the Minister, Deputy Foley, only a few months ago. Enfield Community School is also open. Despite these schools being up and running, we still do not have enough places. That is my concern.

The Minister of State is an intermediary in this, but I ask that he call on the Department of Education to take up this matter and that its forward planning section contact schools proactively and use the data the Minister of State outlined to us - Project 2040, CSO data and primary school admissions data. There is a role for principals - many of them do this work already - to engage collaboratively with one another. The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 provides for that level of engagement so that principals can cross-check application lists and whittle down overlaps.

More remains to be done. The system must be streamlined and made more efficient. In the case of Maynooth, it has been put to me - the suggestion makes sense - that there should be a common patron, given that there are two schools on the same campus. I do not blame the principals, both of whom I know. Mr. Johnny Nevin and Ms Siobhán McCauley are doing their best. At some level, though, perhaps communication is not working or the lists are not being refined. We can see the same happening in Clane. The principals in Naas meet regularly, but the process needs work. Perhaps the Department is the missing piece of the jigsaw.

I will conclude with Councillor Daragh Fitzpatrick, a friend and colleague who is chair of the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board. Regarding Maynooth, he recently stated that there were 14 categories for ranking applicants but that the schools were already full after the first category.

What is the point of having 14 criteria if you cannot get to the second round because there is no more space after the first category? That is the building that I said was the biggest school project of its type in the State ever. I stress that we need those additional places. We need clarity from the Department on when and how they will be provided and we need some comfort that it will go ahead for 2023, 2024, 2025 and beyond. I would be very concerned if it was not the case.

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