Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy will know, I am very aware of this issue and I have been lobbied intensely by the local councillors. I will lay out a few points for the interest of the Chamber before I get to the meat of the ask, as is appropriate in such a debate.

It is important to state for the record that the annual enrolment process for new junior infants at primary and new first years at post-primary is a very large-scale operation. It is transacted at close to 4,000 schools across the country, involving some 140,000 pupils. I know because my daughter is one of them for next year.

While the Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, including Wicklow town and Rathnew, and south County Dublin, there is generally provision across the country, which I think we all can accept, notwithstanding the demographic pressures and others that are driving these factors.

As part of the NDP review process, all Departments, including the Department of Education and Youth, are currently engaging with the Department of public expenditure and reform with respect to NDP allocations for the period 2026-2030. It is expected there will be clarity on these allocations over the course of the summer period and this will allow the Department of Education and Youth to plan its capital investment programme for the 2026-2030 period, in line with prioritised needs and reflecting, as appropriate, wider Government priorities.

Maximising existing capacity in schools to meet needs is very important, as the Deputy has alluded to in the case of at least one school in her area. The Department of Education and Youth is continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure every child in the State has access to a school place. With regard to the Wicklow school planning area, there are a number of active projects at primary level which increase that capacity. These include extension projects for Pádraig Naofa National School, Scoil na Coróine Mhuire and Wicklow Educate Together National School, which will provide both mainstream and special educational needs classes.

The Deputy has made a very clear request for a departmental official to be sent to meet with those principals. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to guarantee that as I am not a line Minister in the Department but I have no hesitation in passing on that request to the Minister. I am aware that two of the Deputy's constituency colleagues from my party have engaged with and have visited these schools in the past few weeks, including the one with my big brother. I do not need to name names in the House, but the Deputy knows where I am going. This is something we can all get behind in terms of simply looking after the primary school needs of Wicklow town and Rathnew.

In the previous Dáil, we debated school places for second level in north Wicklow at length, and also in Newtownmountkennedy. As the Deputy knows, our constituencies are very alike. This is an issue happening in Dublin Rathdown, just as it is in Wicklow and Wicklow-Wexford. Whatever I can do to assist that process beyond party political lines, I am more than happy to do it.

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