Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle and I thank her for allowing me to raise this issue again. There is a serious problem throughout north Kildare at the present time. It is welcome, of course, that we have an increasing population and an increase in employment and commercial activity. The significant increase in population impacts on school places. Almost every school and area in the north of the county is affected by either a potential shortage of school places or an existing shortage of such places. Even when new schools have been provided, massive schools, to cater for the population, there are now warning signs that the schools are not big enough or that they need another school and we need to move on in that area.

School transport has also been an issue in that area for quite a long time and it is a contributory factor to the annoyance of the parents and children who are facing the possibility of having difficulty getting a school place by next September. I know that next September is a good time away. I have spoken to the Minister about this and she said that she hopes that the issue can be dealt with in time for the next school year. However, to be sure that everything is moving in the same direction at the same time, I ask that she carries out an assessment of the need in respect of primary and second level schools.

For instance, St. Farnan's Post Primary School in Prosperous should have been built by now. I know that we had Covid-19, and so on and so forth, which slowed everything down but I believe there is a new urgency that has not manifested a response just yet and it is needed. An assessment needs to be done to test the ability to meet the demand in all areas of primary and second level schools, and special needs requirements as well. These schools all need to be done at the same time as they are all under pressure. I spoke with some of the people in the past number of days who are directly involved and it is necessary now to have an updated assessment of the this need given: the population increase, the demand for all services, and the fact that these two issues have been brought to the attention of everybody, including public representatives in the past couple of years.

My query is whether that assessment can be done as a matter of urgency with a view to conducting the ability of the system to deliver the necessary school places, special needs places, special needs teachers and assistants, and at the same time to enhance, insofar as is possible, the school transport system, which is obviously related, because some children have to move to other schools when places are not available for them. We have had difficulty with that in the past so I ask, if possible, that that be done as a matter of urgency to ensure that we do not have children scrambling for places or parents having to worry about the possibility.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister for Education, I will set out the position with regard to primary and post-primary school places in north Kildare 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 Department of Education and for the Minister.

The Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Under the national development plan, a total of almost €250 million has been invested in schools in the county over the past five years. This investment has focused on the provision of additional capacity to cater for its increasing population and there are further significant projects in our pipeline, including for the north Kildare area.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post-primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments through many school planning areas in north Kildare. In response, the Department is progressing a number of building projects in north Kildare under the national development plan. This includes projects at primary and post-primary schools, and includes provision for mainstream accommodation as well as for children with special educational needs. These projects include recently completed new school buildings for Maynooth Community College, Maynooth Post Primary School, Naas Community College and Maynooth Educate Together National School. Additionally, a number of further new school buildings and extensions are at construction or planned, including for St. Farnan’s Post Primary School, Prosperous; Scoil Dara and Scoil Ui Riada, Kilcock; Maynooth BNS; Celbridge Community School; Scoil Naomh Padraig, Celbridge; St. Raphael’s Special School, Celbridge; Leixlip Educate Together National School; Gaelscoil Ruairí, Maynooth; Mercy Convent Primary School, Naas; Hewetson National School, Clane and St Patrick's Boys National School, Clane.

The Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north Kildare. 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, including Maynooth, Prosperous Clane, Kilcock and Celbridge, 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.

While the complete set of data that would allow a detailed analysis has not yet been received, preliminary indications are that the requirement for additional school places in north Kildare is not as high as may have been anticipated. However, the Department is working to get greater clarity in this respect, and will continue to liaise with school authorities and patrons.

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 already in train, to ensure sufficient school places to meet the needs of students in the area. It is hoped that this data will be received in the shortest timeframe possible to allow for planning to begin on any specific actions which are required.

To further inform our planning, school management bodies are assisting with a detailed analysis of school capacity in a number of areas, taking account of school-specific factors such as current class groupings and subject offerings.

I assure the Deputy that officials from the Department of Education will continue to actively engage with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students throughout north Kildare 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 Kildare school planning areas will receive a first year place.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply, which is much appreciated. It clearly indicates that the Minister of State, the senior Minister and the Department has a knowledge of what the situation is. It is also important to have an up-to-date knowledge and such knowledge will show the most results at this particular time. We have all, as public representatives, tried to ensure that the school management boards relay to the Department regularly to update it, and that all of the factors that need to be brought into account to cater for an increasing population are availed of in good time.

We cannot plan for such things as the intervention of Covid, but there are modern methods that can now be used to build emergency accommodation on to a school as an alternative to the old-fashioned types of prefabs we had in the past, and we had a lot of them in Kildare North, though I am glad to say they are diminishing in number. The situation prevails in every town in the north of the county. The Minister of State mentioned most of them there, but, for instance, Ardclough has a new school and it is already under pressure and will need extra accommodation. There are a number of other schools. I do not want to go into all of them, but there are a number of them. It is a very populous county at present and it is important the children now and in the future have a good quality of accommodation so parents can be assured their children are in warm and safe surroundings and that we are making adequate preparation to ensure nobody is left out. I welcome the Minister of State's assurance that next year's requirement in September will be met.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis An Teachta arís. I am grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to outline the position with respect to primary and post-primary school demand in north Kildare on behalf of the Minister for Education. As I have outlined, there is a strong pipeline of projects being delivered across the schools in the area and these are delivering significant additional capacity to meet the needs of students at primary and post-primary level and of students with special educational needs, including a new 1,000-pupil school building for St. Farnan's Post Primary School in the Prosperous-Clane school planning area, a new 16-classroom for Scoil Naomh Padraig in Celbridge and an new 1,000-pupil school building for Naas Community College.

Again I inform the Deputy that the Department of Education has been in contact with schools and patrons and is aware of the evolving situation with respect to first-year places throughout the school planning areas in north Kildare for September 2024. The critical next step it the prompt provision by the schools of clear data on the applications for admissions and engagement with the schools and patrons is ongoing in that respect. It is really critical that information comes forward. Officials from the Department will continue to liaise with each of the patrons of the schools with a view to finding a workable solution to ensure no student is without a place for September 2024. The priority for the Department is to ensure there are places available for every student for the next school year and it will continue to engage with patrons and school authorities in this regard. I expect there will be further clarity provided to families and schools in the communities in the coming weeks. I hope that is of assurance to the Deputy and the communities he represents.