Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending and representing the Minister for Education.

In early October, the three principals in the town of Greystones in Wicklow came together in an unprecedented fashion to issue a press release telling parents that there was a high likelihood that, between the three schools, sufficient places would not be provided for pupils from local primary schools who would be first year students in 2024. They stated that there were significant pressures on the infrastructure and accommodation within their schools and that 72 fewer secondary school places would be offered in September 2024 than were offered the previous year.

Obviously, this caused considerable concern.

I had an opportunity to raise it with the planning section of the Department of Education on 3 October to highlight to it that this was coming down the road and to determine whether it could deal with it proactively so parents would not have to deal with the concerns and worry that no places would be available for their children. I raised it again on 12 October by way of another Topical Issue because this is a serious concern for the area. I raised it again on 7 November through parliamentary questions, and I am raising it again tonight. The reason I am raising it is because this is an incredibly serious issue for parents, students and the schools in Greystones. Having 70 fewer places available for the intake next September, when the number of primary school children coming out of sixth class will be higher, will cause significant problems.

On 10 November this year, the schools made their first-round offers to parents. My understanding is that, at that stage, the waiting lists for the three schools had 200 to 250 pupils. Many parents came to me at that point, really worried about what was going to happen. There is a duplication in the waiting lists but the reality is that 70, 80 or perhaps 90 children in Greystones will not have a place.

Let me outline the level at which the Department needs to be thinking about this. The stress put on children making the transition from primary school to secondary school, because they do not know whether they will be in with their friends, the uniforms they will be wearing, the schoolbooks they will need to get or the school they will be going to, is enormous. This pressure is also on the parents. They are incredibly upset.

I have raised this at every single opportunity. I am doing so because I want the Department to work proactively to alleviate the stress on parents. I am aware that the second-round offers will be going out either at the end of this week or early next week. At that stage, we will have a much clearer picture of the exact number of children who do not have a place. I am very fearful about the number of parents who will be coming to me next week having been told their children do not have a place.

Since I have raised this repeatedly, I want to know whether the children will get places, where they will get them, how the Department envisages them being given, and when parents will be told their children will get the places. This is an incredibly serious issue for parents, students and schools in Greystones.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta as an t-ábhar seo a ardú. It gives me the opportunity to set out for the House the position on post-primary school places in Greystones in September of next year. I assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary levels, including children and young people with special educational needs, is an absolute priority for the Department.

As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a GIS system to anticipate demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit and 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.

Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, the Department then assesses existing capacity within each area and its ability to meet any increased demand. Additional provision is made, as necessary, where existing capacity is insufficient for future needs.

The Department is aware that pressures at post-primary level in Greystones are in part due to the reduction by some schools of the number of first-year places being made available for 2024-25. A critical next step is to acquire clarity on the actual number of additional first-year places required for 2024 in order for an appropriate solution to be put in place. In that context, schools in several areas of enrolment pressure, including Greystones, have been requested to share data on applications for admissions. The Department is liaising closely with schools to ensure this data is provided as soon as possible, and once it is received the actual requirement for places can be established. The Deputy referred to this. The Department is already discussing potential solutions with the relevant school patrons and authorities, but understanding the actual school place needs will clarify the specific actions required. This close engagement with schools and patrons will also allow the Department to identify further capacity requirements for the forthcoming years and put any required solutions beyond those already in train to ensure sufficient school places.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post-primary school place requirements, there has been continued growth in enrolments in Greystones. In response to the projections of school place needs in Greystones, the Department is providing significant additional post-primary capacity, including a new 1,000-pupil school building for Greystones Community College. Greystones Community College was established in 2020 as a regional solution for the Kilcoole and Greystones area. The project to deliver this new school building is at stage 3, tender stage.

In addition to delivering that project, the Department has recently delivered a major building project to expand St. David's secondary school and is also progressing a building project for Temple Carrig School. St. David's is a coeducational school, and a major building project to deliver state-of-the art, modern school accommodation for 750 pupils was provided.

Temple Carrig secondary school is a coeducational school and it was established in 2014. There is a project under way to provide accommodation at this school for 1,000 pupils, which is currently at stage 1. A project for four modular classrooms has also been approved. These classrooms are now on site and the project is nearing completion.

In addition, there is the existing school in the adjacent Kilcoole school planning area, Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, for which a major project is approved to expand it to 1,000 pupils. This project is currently at stage 2B and is being delivered by the NDFA.

I assure Deputy Whitmore that Department officials will continue to engage actively with schools and patrons to ensure appropriate provision for all students in Greystones for the 2024-25 school year and into the future. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so all the children in the Greystones area will receive a first-year place. That is a guarantee.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State. Parents will be very relieved to hear the guarantee that there will be a school place for each of the children. We now need this to happen quickly so parents will know a solution will be put in place quickly if they receive refusals at the end of this week or early next week. In Greystones, and indeed in the north Wicklow area, these solutions have taken an awfully long time. It can be the following May or July before parents actually know what school their children will be going to. That is not fair to the children and parents, or indeed to the schools. I ask that the solutions be outlined and that parents be given clarity on when this will happen. I ask that the Department and Minister engage with me and other public representatives in the area to ensure we are kept abreast of developments, in addition to the schools.

The Minister of State said the pressures are in part due to some schools reducing their number of places. This is the case but it is completely beyond the responsibility of the schools. They simply do not have the infrastructure, classrooms and ability to accommodate the children, and they have worked really hard to ensure parents are supported in respect of the decision and that local representatives are kept informed so they could bring a problem to the attention of the Minister.

There are several school projects that seem to be going far too slowly. In October, I was told the full build for Greystones Community College, the 1,000-student unit, would done for quarter 2 of 2025. The latest update from the Department, on 17 November, indicates it will be early 2026. If that is the case, we will be back here again next year and parents will be coming to us again with no school places. Therefore, we need to see the school projects for both Greystones Community College and Temple Carrig School expedited so places can be provided for the following year.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and doing her job as a constituency TD, as I did myself in the Opposition benches and continue to do as a Minister of State in respect of similar scenarios. Her raising of the issue is a chance to outline the position of the Department. The Minister and Department are correct that there is a strong pipeline of project delivery for schools in the area, and these projects are delivering capacity. The Department has been in contact with schools and patrons and is aware of the situation. I thank Deputy Whitmore, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and others in the constituency. The Minister is aware of the evolving situation for September 2024. The critical next step is the prompt provision by the schools of clear data on applications for admission, and engagement with the schools and patrons is ongoing in that respect. The information is critical. Officials will continue to liaise with each school patron to find a workable solution to ensure no student will be without a place in September 2024.

The priority for the Department is to ensure that there are places available for every student for the next school year and every school year. The Department will continue to engage with patrons and school authorities in this regard. I expect further clarity will be provided to families and school communities in the coming weeks.