Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for highlighting the situation in north Kildare. I believe Deputy Lawless fully understands the position. As I mentioned earlier, the Department uses 314 planning areas around the country to plan for the future development of schools. The planning areas in Kildare North are Maynooth, Kilcock, Leixlip, Celbridge and Prosperous. I will make a practical suggestion to the Deputy. Years ago, when I was a newer Deputy in County Laois, there were 11 schools in Portlaoise, all with competing demands. I eventually got every one of their principals and board of management chairs to a meeting in the county hall where we had representatives of the Department to try to do it on a proper basis rather than each school competing with each other. It was a way by which we ended up with great results. I suggest that the Deputy identify the particular schools in the areas that I just mentioned and try to put a mechanism in place where the principal and the chair of the boards of management of the four, five or six schools can come together and work collectively. It would make it easier for the Department were there a joint effort coming forward. It might be an unusual way to do business but it is probably the Irish way of doing business by getting people in around the room and rather than each of us competing with each other and everyone ringing the Deputy to say that their classroom, ASD unit or school extension has priority. We know what happens then. He should bring the local authority into that meeting too because it is doing the county development plan and knows what is being planned in the area. As it will have details on commencement notices for new houses too, the local authority could be helpful in that process.

I acknowledge Deputy Lawless for raising this as he has done with so many issues in Kildare North, which is an area of growing population. All I would say to him is to keep the pressure on.

See this speech in context