Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I very much appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, being here to read the response on behalf of the Minister for Education. However, it might be worthwhile for the Acting Chairperson to discuss with the Ceann Comhairle a review of how many Ministers and Ministers of State are turning up for Topical Issue debates that are relevant to their remit. I am always conscious when I make this point that I do not mean it to be disrespectful to the person who has actually turned up for the debate. I very much appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, is here. However, there is a pattern in this regard and it is not something I experienced in the previous Dáil. I ask An Chathaoirleach Gníomhach to raise the matter with the Ceann Comhairle.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I will carry that message back to the Ceann Comhairle on behalf of both Deputies O'Reilly and Naughten.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I raise an issue I have discussed at least once if not twice a year in the nearly eight years since I was elected to the Dáil. I represent a very young constituency, as does the Minister of State, with a fast-growing and expanding population. Every single year, we have a situation whereby parents are left scrambling for school places. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of the Skerries community response to the education shortage in town, CREST, group, which was established four years ago to lobby for much-needed additional school places in Skerries. Our town is expanding. Apparently, the Minister of State and his ministerial colleagues were delighted when an extension was announced for one of the schools in the area, as I saw on social media. People were very pleased this announcement had been made. Unfortunately, it was only announced. Four years on, we have a situation whereby there will be 180 children in the next intake, following the intake of 210 last year. That will leave 53 children on the waiting list. It is not the case that it can be balanced out because Skerries is its own unit.

The same issues are arising in a number of schools in the area. I will list the schools in respect of which the issue has been raised with me in the past couple of weeks. It is not by any means an exhaustive list. It includes Skerries Community College, Ardgillan Community College, Malahide Community School, St. Oliver Plunkett National School and the special needs unit extension at Skerries Educate Together National School. I have had the explanation given to me that parents put their children's name down for several schools and this can cause a backlog. That is most definitely not happening in Skerries. I know many of the parents on the waiting list and they have not put their children's names down for multiple schools. They want their children to go to school in the town where they live. That should not be too much to ask. As sure as night follows day, every child will need schooling at the age of five. At the end of that child's primary schooling, he or she will need a secondary school place. It is one of the most predictable things that happens.

There has been a consistent failure to plan for school places. That failure is most acutely felt in north County Dublin because of its young and expanding population. I spoke to some of the parents in Skerries today who are very disheartened and upset because they have been promised an expanded school but they do not see any plan for the 53 children who are stuck on the waiting list. The parents are absolutely frantic, as are the children themselves. We all know about the difficulties being experienced. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of them. There just does not seem to be a plan to address them. When I look back on the Dáil record, it shows that I have raised this issue repeatedly. It is not one that sorts itself out. There are still plenty of children who are not going to the school closest to them and must instead travel a fair distance to another school. The Minister of State and I both know that, for many, that does not involve getting on a bus or train. For a lot of children, it involves getting into a car in the morning. Apart from the environmental impact of that, which is a factor, it also means parents are made late for work and in starting their day because they cannot let their children go to school on their own. This is having a massive impact on families. I would be grateful if the Minister of State were to have some words of comfort for me on behalf of the Minister for Education.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As her question was framed in a general way, I will begin with some general points and I can provide more specifics in my follow-up response.

On behalf of the Minister for Education, I will outline the position with regard to primary and post-primary school places in north County Dublin for September 2024 and onwards. 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 Minister. The Department has invested significantly in schools in north County Dublin over recent years. Bremore Educate Together Secondary School, Balbriggan, had a new school building for 1,000 pupils completed in 2018. Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, also in Balbriggan, was completed in 2019 and has accommodation for 1,000 pupils. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for the increasing population. There are further significant projects in the pipeline, including for the north Dublin area.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post-primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments throughout many school planning areas in north County Dublin. In response, the Department is progressing a number of building projects in the area under the national development plan. They include projects at primary and post-primary schools and provision for mainstream accommodation as well as for children with special educational needs.

Additionally there are a number of new school buildings and extensions which are at construction or planned, including for Lusk Community College, Portmarnock Community School, Malahide and Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School phase 2, Ériu Community College, Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together National School, Rush National School, Stapolin Educate Together National School and Skerries Community College.

School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. There are also 200 modular accommodation projects that are very well advanced for delivery or at construction stage. This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government’s very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities.

The Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north County Dublin. 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 a number of areas of enrolment pressure have been requested to share data on applications for admissions. The Department is liaising closely with schools to ensure that this data is provided as soon as possible, and once it is received the actual requirement for places can be established. The Department is also engaging more generally with patrons and schools across other areas regarding school place needs with a view to identifying any required accommodation solutions. This close engagement with schools and patrons will also allow the Department to identify particular further capacity requirements for the forthcoming years and put any required solutions in place, beyond those that are already in train, to ensure sufficient school places to meet the needs of students in the area.

With respect to special education, the Department works very closely with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, in relation to forward planning for increased special education provision in the form of additional special classes and special school places. This close engagement with the NCSE involves strategic planning to ensure that existing accommodation capacity, where it exists, is utilised and maximised in the context of providing new special classes. It also facilitates the identification of required accommodation solutions, where additional capacity is required. The Department is working with the NCSE to ensure that required special classes across north Dublin can be facilitated, both to meet needs for 2024-25 and future school years. I can assure the Deputy that Department officials will continue to actively engage with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students throughout north County Dublin for the 2024-25 school year and into the future. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that all of the children in the north County Dublin school planning areas will receive a school place.

I can give the Deputy some more specific information on Skerries in the follow-up.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Just to pick up on some of the points he made, he said the Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north County Dublin. I should hope so, because I raise it often enough, as others do as well. He said the next step is to acquire clarity on the actual number of additional first year places required. With respect, this is our second last week before we rise at the end of 2023. It will be the middle of January when we come back. In his next response, the Minister of State might give me a timeframe for that. For many parents, once it gets into the new year they want to start planning, as the Minister of State knows himself, particularly if they are going to have to drive their kids to school in the morning if it is not going to be possible for them to get a place. Parents will be holding out hope that they will get the school place in their local area, but things like modular buildings and additional capacity put in at short notice cannot be done overnight, even with short notice. It he gets a chance in the follow-up, I ask the Minister of State to give me a timeframe for that, because I would like to be able to go back to the parents who are on the list and give them an update. I used Skerries as an example not for any reason other than it was the subject of the most recent conversation that I had. It is an issue right across my constituency. I ask the Minister of State to give me a timeframe for the 53 who are on the waiting list. The intake was 210 last year and it appears to have gone down to 180. That is already a bit of a worry. The Minister of State has referenced temporary solutions and has said a solution will be found. If that is going to happen, he might give me a timeframe for that. If he cannot do that now, he might give it to me in writing at a later date so that I can go back to the parents and tell them that while they do not know today, if they are part of that cohort of 53 they will know what that solution is going to be, and when they will know.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Skerries Community College was approved for a project to cater for a school with 1,300 students and four classes for students with special education needs. The project was devolved for delivery to the ETB. Significant technical challenges for the delivery of the project on the current site were identified. The Department met with the ETB in August in order to assist the ETB progress the project. The ETB is now engaging in identifying options to advance the project in light of the significant site constraints discussed with the Department's professional technical officials.

In order to address the immediate enrolment requirements of the school, the Department approved modular accommodation comprised of three mainstream classrooms, a home economics room and an art room. This is expected to be completed shortly. My understanding is that that will be in quarter 1 of next year. The Department will continue to engage with the ETB regarding both the school's immediate and long-term accommodation needs, including with a view to facilitating the future provision of special classes at the school.

In relation to the particular issue of the 53 people on the waiting list, it is essentially an enrolment policy issue for the school. My understanding is - this is not from a departmental source - that the expectation is that the majority of the people on the list will be offered a place. That is the expectation. It was done a little bit differently this year to previous years, which is why the waiting list was longer. My understanding is that the majority of the people on the waiting list will get offered a place. It goes through a round of offers based on different categorisations of priority needs and so on, in terms of having siblings in the school, being in the catchment area and being from a feeder school. Those are the filters, for want of a better word, that will need to be got through, I assume within a period of weeks. My understanding is that those parents will have clarity then.