Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for permitting this important issue, which focuses on the urgent need to secure approval for a new secondary school in Kinnegad, to be addressed on the floor of the Dáil this evening. It is important that this matter reaches the Dáil, as it has done in the past by means of the parliamentary questions I have been persistent in raising.

My colleague, Mr. Denis Leonard, who is a former member of Westmeath County Council, remains a tremendously dedicated community activist despite his defeat in the local elections last May. His loss from electoral politics has been severely felt. He has been and remains at the vanguard of a campaign to establish a new secondary school in Kinnegad, which is now the third largest town in County Westmeath with a population of approximately 3,000 and the demographics associated with an expanding population. It has experienced a rapid increase in population and continues to grow from a demographic perspective. This augments the case and makes a persuasive argument for a new school. Mr. Leonard, who was a councillor at the time, was not behind the door in June 2011 when he let us all know in no uncertain fashion that he was greatly disappointed and annoyed by the failure to include Kinnegad in that month's announcement of 40 new school projects to be completed by the end of 2017 as part of the public capital schools programme.

This failure was particularly disappointing in the context of the N4-M4 study, which was conducted by the Department in 2004. The 2004 report advised that a site should be specifically reserved for the development of a secondary school in Kinnegad to cater for a projected enrolment of more than 700 students in the long term. Indeed, it referred specifically to post-2011 needs; in other words, the requirements we have now. As I have said, the population of Kinnegad has doubled since then. It is now the third largest town in County Westmeath and its population is still increasing.

Approximately 560 pupils are attending the excellent St. Etchen's primary school in Kinnegad. Significant numbers of new students are starting there in September. There are five primary schools, with an average of approximately 100 pupils per school, within six miles of the town. Children in the general Kinnegad area attend approximately nine different secondary schools, some of which are approaching maximum numbers because their own immediate catchment areas are population growth centres as well. Many of these schools are also stretched from an accommodation perspective.

Unlike some people who have shown a belated interest in the need for a secondary school in Kinnegad, I have not come to this topic recently. As long ago as 2006, I tabled a parliamentary question to the then Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, calling for a school to be put in place in Kinnegad by 2011 on the basis of the then population projections for the Kinnegad area. In response, the then Minister said:

The local area development plan for the N4/M4 corridor outlines my Department's long-term educational strategy at both primary and post-primary level for the area concerned. The recommendations in the plan are being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme from 2006 onwards subject to the prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects.

Things have progressed positively at local level since then. I am aware that approximately 17 acres of suitable land are now available at a very reasonable price. A smaller acreage can be bought if that is what is required. More importantly, this specific land is zoned as "educational" in the county development plan and an access road has been constructed adjacent to the local primary school. It is perfectly located from a strategic perspective, in terms of the clustering of educational infrastructure. It is clear that the closer to each other the primary and secondary schools are, the more they will complement each other.

I do not need to over-elaborate as I spell out how important and vital a secondary school would be to the future development of the Kinnegad area and its large geographical hinterland. It would allow young people to attend secondary school in their own localities. As a consequence, it would give them a greater sense of local community. It would allow them to have opportunities to contribute to the community as young citizens through school programmes. It would ensure young students, who are at the heart of the community, do not have to leave the local area every day to secure their secondary education. It would minimise the strain on the school transport system and lead to savings for parents who currently have to pay for school transport. This is another issue that is often referred to locally, as school transport costs represent a significant drain on the hard-pressed budgets of parents.

On behalf of the citizens and the community of Kinnegad, I request that the commitment given to the provision of a secondary school in Kinnegad be honoured. That is no more and no less than what the people of the area deserve.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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On behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to remind the House of the significant challenges we face in meeting increasing demand for pupil places throughout the country in the coming years and to explain how this will be addressed.

We remain in an era of significant growth in the school going cohort at both primary and post-primary level.

At post-primary level, it is projected that almost 33,000 extra places will be needed between 2013 and 2020. Post-primary enrolment is set to continue to rise until 2025 at least with some 71,698 extra places being needed between 2013 and that time. Up to 2020, this increase in pupil numbers at post-primary level is the equivalent of up to 33 new 1,000 pupil post-primary schools.

The Deputy probably knows the Department uses a geographical information system, GIS, to identify where the pressure for school places will arise. The GIS uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, and the Department of Social Protection in addition to the Department's databases. It also uses data from local authorities.

With this information, the Department is in the process of carrying out a nationwide demographic analysis to determine where additional post-primary accommodation may be needed from 2017 onwards. This is a significant exercise and is continuing. When the exercise has been completed arrangements will be made to make additional accommodation available where it is needed. However, the needs of the Kinnegad area are included in this nationwide demographic review.

In June 2011, the Minister announced the need for the establishment of some 20 new post-primary schools to cater for increased demographics across a number of locations up to 2017. This announcement did not include a proposal to establish a new post-primary school in Kinnegad, as the demographics of the area did not support the need for a new second level school.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The Minister for Education and Skills should consider the M4 study, which indicated that between 2011 and 2017 the demographic need was pressing. One can always get a set of criteria to suit whatever outcome one wants to achieve. There are very few primary schools outside a major urban centre with 560 pupils. In the satellite areas for 5 miles around it, there are five primary schools, each with 100 pupils. Kinnegad is on the eastern side of Westmeath, the envelope of Westmeath and is a beautiful town. A secondary school in Kinnegad would also facilitate students from just across the county boundary in Meath. The demographics are extremely positive. A huge influx of people came into the area in the early 2000s up to 2008.

The county development plan provided for that influx. It also provided for the designation of an area consistent with the M4 study to be zoned for education. The land is there. The Minister will never again have the opportunity to get this land. It is very reasonable. Nobody is trying to gazump anybody else. It is available at a fixed price and is adjacent to the primary school, a complementary location. It will be very disappointing if an opportunity like this is not taken.

There is a population of approximately 3,000 in Kinnegad with a significant cohort of young people. This increases to 5,000 when the hinterland is included. St. Etchen's is one of the largest rural primary schools, accommodating 560 pupils. There is a strong and compelling case to make sure Kinnegad is not bypassed on this occasion and gets the secondary school it deserves. It is important for the third largest town, which is expanding, in Westmeath. The people there are willing to put their shoulders to the wheel to make sure this becomes a reality.

I urge the Department of Education and Skills to stop its usual foot-dragging tactics. It always allows the egg to be cracked and then tries to unscramble it. It has the opportunity to buy land at a very reasonable price that is designated for educational infrastructure. Now is the time. Studies are only exercises in procrastination, obfuscation and delay. There is no need for any more studies of demographics. The Department can check with Matt Melvin and the other teachers there, who will tell it about the study. I do not want any more foot-dragging on this. It is time that it was brought, and driven, forward. I ask the Minister of State to relay that to the Minister for Education and Skills. I will certainly take every opportunity of doing so to ensure that the voice of the people of Kinnegad, who deserve a secondary school, is heard.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I take on board what the Deputy has said. Schools and their proper planning are very important in communities. I have heard what the Deputy has said and will convey his concerns to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.