Dáil debates
Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
School Enrolments
11:30 pm
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to represent the Minister for Education. This is my third Topical Issue on this issue, which I have raised a number of times in the Dáil with the Minister. In early October 2023, it became apparent that there was a major shortfall of places for secondary school students in Greystones. At that stage, we thought it could be around 100. I raised it directly with the Department during a committee meeting with the forward planning section. It was aware of this shortfall and alarm bells should be ringing there. Since then, we have had discussions and submitted questions to find out exactly what is happening for those students.
The Department had a meeting with the five TDs from Wicklow on 5 December 2023. We were told at that time that it had received the data from the schools, was going to work through all those waiting lists to see how many children needed a place and had asked the schools for information on their footprint and how many children they could take in. We were told on 5 December that we would hear in January about what the solution would be. Unfortunately, we have not heard about it two months since that meeting.
The data the Department was getting from the schools is information it should have. It is the forward planning section. It should know about schools' capacity and how many students are in the area. It could simply look at the figures from the fifth and sixth class in primary schools to see what kind of demand it should be expecting.
I want to get across really clearly that this is causing parents and students in the area huge concern. Transitioning from primary to secondary school is a milestone and something the children should be able to look forward to. Unfortunately, a large number of students do not know where they are going to go in September while their friends are chatting about different uniforms and what classes they are going to take. Indeed the entrance examinations are happening in some schools. While all that chatter is happening, these children have no idea of where they are going and are incredibly stressed as are their parents. I have had endless phone calls from parents as has my colleague Councillor Mark Barry, with whom I am working on this issue. We have been working very closely with the schools and the parents to try to move this process along. I understand that the Department has a job to do to figure out where these students will go. What we need is to see a decision made quickly because we need to let parents know what is happening. I am really hopeful that the documentation the Minister of State has will provide some answers in that regard.
It is not just a matter of what is happening for September 2024. We also need to hear what is going to happen for September 2025. I am not joking when I say that every year since I was first elected, the issue of school places in the Greystones district has been a problem. I do not understand why the Department is still not on top of that despite a number of school projects being signed off on and funding being made available. Hopefully, the Minister of State will have some indication as to the three major school builds that are planned for the area because I do not want to be standing here next year talking about this issue. It is not fair on parents and students. It is not fair on the schools either because a "solution" will be cobbled together and it will put huge pressure on the schools to sort this out in conjunction with the Department so, hopefully, the Minister of State has an answer for me.
Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Before I give the Deputy the straight reply on behalf of the Minister for Education, both the Deputy and I are in neighbouring constituencies. We do not represent areas that are too different from each other. I am in my 15th year as an elected representative and every year, school places have become an issue and this will continue. Despite seeing ten new schools opening in my constituency during those 15 years, there is still pressure on places. When I see 1,500 new homes built in my local electoral area, on which I served for seven years, I know there will be forward pressure. Indeed I wrote to the Minister for Education as a constituency TD yesterday.
Since 2018 and to the end of October 2023, a total of €145 million has been invested in school infrastructure in County Wicklow. This significant capital investment includes a recently delivered major building project to expand St. David’s Secondary School in Greystones. State-of-the-art, modern school accommodation for 750 pupils was provided at this school.
The Department is currently progressing a major building project for Temple Carrig School in Greystones, which I visited on Saturday, under the national development plan. Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones was opened in 2014. I attended the opening and I think the Deputy attended as well before her political career. There is a project underway to provide accommodation at this school for 1,000 pupils, which is currently at stage 1, preliminary design stage. A project for four modular mainstream classrooms has also been approved. These classrooms are now on site and the project is completed.
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 County Wicklow. In response, the Department is providing further 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. The permanent building project will deliver a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school with accommodation, including four classrooms, for children with special educational needs. The project is being delivered under the Department’s design and build programme and is currently at tender stage. The invitation to tender issued in April 2023 as part of a bundle of projects issued to the Department's framework of design and build contractors. The tender process currently takes approximately eight to 12 months. Tender returns have been received and are currently being evaluated. Once a contractor has been appointed, it is anticipated that construction will commence shortly thereafter. In addition to the above projects, there is also the existing school in the adjacent Kilcoole school planning area - Coláiste Craobh Abhann - for which there is a major project approved to expand it to 1,000 pupils. This project is currently at stage 2b and is being delivered by the National Development Finance Agency.
The annual enrolment process for new junior infants at primary and new first years at post-primary is a very large-scale operation that is transacted at close to 4,000 schools across the country involving some 140,000 pupils. In the context of post-primary enrolment pressures in Greystones, the Department of Education is aware of the acute pressures laid out by the Deputy tonight and on two if not three previous occasions in this Chamber. A critical next step for the Department is to establish the actual number of additional first year places as the Deputy outlined. In that context, schools in a number of areas of enrolment pressure, including Greystones, have been requested to share data. This data has been received by Department officials and is currently being analysed with a view to establishing the actual requirement for places. Preliminary assessments indicate that duplication of applications and applications from outside the local area are contributing to enrolment pressures in the town.
The Department is working to clarify the actual requirement for additional school places and to identify particular further capacity requirements for 2024 and forthcoming years. The Department is currently engaging with schools and patrons to put required solutions in place beyond those that are already in train.
Engagement is also taking place with patrons and schools with regard to school place needs more broadly across the county. This close engagement continues. I can assure the Deputy on behalf of the Minister that Department of Education officials will continue to engage actively with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in Greystones for the forthcoming 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 Greystones school planning area will receive a first year place.
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I have to say that I am really disappointed with the response. It has been two months and the Department has yet to ascertain how many children in the area do not have a place. How does it take two months to go through that process? How has the Department not yet figured out where there is capacity in schools in the area?
Parents in the area have just two questions. They want to know what school their child will be going to and when they will find out. They are two very simple basic questions and after first raising this in October and after the Department getting all the information from the different schools, the Minister should be able to provide that clarity for parents.
There is a significant irony here. In November, the Minister was all over every single news outlet talking about the school phone ban. She was lauding the fact there were schools and parents in Greystones that had come together to develop a voluntary code when it came to phone bans and she was going to apply this across the country. It is these same children who do not have a place. That is the irony of this. It is these sixth class students in Greystones who do not have a place. With all due respect, the Minister's focus should be on ensuring that children have a school place for September rather than on issuing guidance notes that are voluntary for parents.
I am really frustrated by this. I cannot believe that we still do not have any actual figures as to how many students require a place. Not only have we no figures about that, we have no timeline as to when that information will be given to parents. We also do not have any information on the three school projects that are underway.
The Greystones Community College went out for tender almost one year ago. I have asked that the Department prioritise that in the bundle of ten to make sure there are enough school places for 2025. There is no further information on that. The Temple Carraig school extension has also gone on far too long. We also have Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, which received planning permission more than one year ago and there is still no indication of any progress with that. This is an area where there is huge demand. There is an incredible level of housebuilding going on. This situation is not going to get better and we need to make sure that the Department has this under control for September 2024 and September 2025, and that the schools are fully able to take whatever demand is coming down the road.
11:40 pm
Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I absolutely agree with the Deputy. That is why the Department of Education has made it quite clear that I relay that the critical step is receiving the data, processing it and then going back to the schools with the data. There are two months where you are dealing with quite a number of duplications. Half of the people in my area apply to far more than one, two, three or four schools for their child. That is an impact, and we have to accept that. However, I am told, as per the reply, that this process will be concluded in the coming weeks. At this stage it would perhaps be a good idea to seek a direct deputation with the senior Minister. I am more than happy to go back to her to say that was requested on the floor of the House. If the Deputy does so by letter, I will write an additional supplementary calling on the Minister to do that.