Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills about the case of more than 20 sixth class primary school children in Limerick who were issued rejection letters from the 11 post-primary schools that they applied for; to outline the steps that have been taken to date; the remaining steps that are to be taken to rectify this ongoing matter; and if a commitment can be given that such a distressing situation will not be repeated in advance of the next academic year. [22536/23]

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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In February 2019, I raised this issue with the then Minister for Education. I highlighted that the common application system in Limerick is unique. It requires sixth class students to list their schools in order of preference from one to 11. Imagine children being told there is no place for them and getting 11 rejection letters. The system is in place for the correct reason of avoiding the class-based selection system that existed in the city.

Unfortunately, it is not working for all students. When I raised this issue in 2019, I was dealing with one distressed child and his family. This year, more than 20 children received rejection letters from all of the schools they had to put on their application forms.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs, is an absolute priority for the Department. To plan for school place needs, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will be aware there is a different system in Limerick - the common applications system.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am. I know they have a joint system. Where forecasts indicate growing enrolments, the Department first considers available capacity within the existing schools. Where additional provision is needed, the options considered are the expansion of existing schools or the establishment of one or more new schools.

In response to the projections of school place needs in Limerick city, the Department is providing significant additional post-primary capacity, including new 1,000-pupil school buildings for two recently established schools, Mungret Community College and Limerick ETSS, new school buildings for Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ, Ardscoil Mhuire and Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, as well as extensions at Castletroy College, Thomond Community College and Coláiste Mhichíl. These projects are providing state-of-the-art, modern accommodation to meet the needs of the growing number of post-primary students across Limerick city, including specifically designed provision to meet the needs of students with special educational needs.

As the Deputy will be aware, a common applications system operates to manage the admissions process for post-primary schools in Limerick city. This system has worked very effectively to meet post-primary school place needs and is successfully administered by the Limerick Education Centre, which I acknowledge. The Department has been in close engagement with the centre and school patrons regarding the admissions process for the 2023-24 school year and is aware of the current situation with respect to first-year places in Limerick.

The Department is also aware that a number of students did not initially receive an offer of a first year place in a post-primary school in Limerick and identified a requirement for further increased provision at schools to meet this need. Following consultation, and arising in the first instance from the excellent co-operative approach taken by post-primary schools in the city, available capacity in Limerick city has risen significantly, with 11 of the schools having increased their available first-year places earlier this year, giving an additional capacity of more than 160 places.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will be aware from the common application process that we knew exactly how many children were going to be in need of school places in September. Unfortunately, there are children who received 11 rejection letters in February and they have absolutely no idea what school they are going to or if they are going to a school at all. Their peers and friends are excited about going to secondary school, as the Minister can imagine, given she is a teacher herself and knows exactly how it works. These people cannot even tell their friends, and some of the parents have not told the children yet that they have 11 rejection letters. They are telling them it was just a mistake and that it will be sorted out because they do not want to tell a 12-year-old child that there is no place for them at the moment.

I appreciate the Department is working behind the scenes to resolve the matter but the families are very stressed and they need clarity as to what is going on. As I said, they are in limbo. They have been told to hang on and that everything will be fine, but these families need more than that. They need some sort of clarity as to whether they will have a place in September for their children. More than 26 children have no place at the moment.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge again that the common application system that operates in Limerick is a superb system and is one born of co-operation between all of the schools on the sharing of information. There is often a challenge where there are multiple applications across a number of systems. I want to acknowledge that in the first instance. I also want to acknowledge that, because of that system, issues were flagged in terms of the need for additional places. In that respect, there have been achievements, with 11 schools across Limerick city having agreed to increase their availability of first year places to give an additional capacity of more than 160 places. In addition, both Thomond Community College and Limerick Educate Together Secondary School have recently agreed to take an additional class group each. This will increase available capacity by more than 50 first year places. The 20 or more students to whom the Deputy is referring can be accommodated within this group and, in fact, it will mean there is additional free capacity of at least 20 places. It is considerable progress but, again, it has been helped by the common applications system.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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If that is the case, and we are hearing rumours that there will be additional school places in Thomond College, which is the school I went to myself, I would be delighted with that. The Educate Together school is a brand-new school that has been built. One of the people I am dealing with lives two minutes from that school but has no place, and is not even on a waiting list, as far as I know. If those two schools come back with a class each, that will solve the problem.

As I have previously stated, the rationale for having this system in place in Limerick is sound. It was originally put in place to address the issues of inequality and exclusion and to ensure equality of selection, and for most children and schools it works quite well. However, we simply cannot have a repeat of this next year. It was traumatic enough in 2019 when one child did not get a place but we can imagine what it is like when they all get 11 rejection letters. It is incredible. We can imagine that a parent opens the 11 letters but can we imagine what it is like to be that child? I encourage the Department to review the system. We know exactly how many children are coming out of primary school and we know one or two will not go on to secondary school in Limerick, so we know how many places we need.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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To be fair, we have seen considerable progress in Limerick and we are also seeing very considerable investment by the Department in either new school buildings or additional accommodation. I have listed them for the Deputy, whether it is the 1,000-pupil school buildings for two recently established schools, Mungret Community College and Limerick ETSS, the new school buildings for Laurel Hill, including the Gaelcholáiste aspect of Laurel Hill, Ardscoil Mhuire and Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, as well as extensions at Castletroy College, Thomond Community College and Coláiste Mhichíl.

Specifically in terms of the additional places that have been made available, it is important to note that it would appear at this point that there will be additional capacity, rather than required capacity. I acknowledge both Thomond Community College and Limerick Educate Together secondary school in this regard and their agreement to add the additional classes.

I also point out that schools are required under the Education Act to offer places in line with their admissions policy and to work through their waiting lists accordingly. Where a student accepts one of the newly-created places but already has a place in a different school, that original place will become available. Overall, the additional capacity being provided in Limerick city is expected to meet the need for first year places. Nevertheless, the Department will continue to monitor the situation to ensure there are sufficient places available to meet the overall requirements.