Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I appreciate, particularly in areas of huge growth, how important it is to have an adequate number of schools and schools adjacent to and near where students are living. That is the most important thing.

My Department has a robust forward planning process which considers population and enrolment data. When it comes to the Dublin 15 area, the Department tells me there is sufficient post-primary school capacity to cater for the existing population. Looking ahead it is also making sure we are looking at projected population expansion, new developments and other people who may come into the area. One relevant indicator is that there are more first-year places available in the existing post-primary schools than there are sixth-class pupils living in the Dublin 15 area.

Furthermore, officials in my Department have an ongoing engagement with Fingal County Council in respect of planning new residential developments. Based on this available information and other elements, the school capital projects in the existing schools building programme are expected to cater for the projected additional school place demands resulting from such developments. My Department is satisfied there is no requirement for a new school in that area. However, it has established that there is currently considerable movement of Dublin 15 pupils out of the local communities in which they live to attend post-primary schools. This is most acute in the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown planning area where enrolment numbers are significantly lower than the school-going population. There are currently more than 1,000 post-primary school pupils leaving this area each day to attend school in other parts of Dublin 15.

Ériu Community College, as the Deputy mentioned, was established in 2020 on an interim basis in Dublin 15. This was in response to the identified deficit of local capacity. My Department has determined that Hollywoodrath is the most appropriate permanent location for this school and will provide much-needed capacity in the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown area, while freeing up capacity in other schools in Dublin 15. That assists in addressing the imbalance of post-primary school capacity across the area. I will refer to the other schools where we know there is additional capacity.

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