Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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2. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she agrees that the demographics are such in Dublin 15 that there is a need to maintain a school (details supplied) at its existing location and for extra capacity in the Tyrellstown area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7671/25]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I know the Minister is new to her brief so she may not be familiar with these locations. With regard to Ériu Community College, the Department of Education took an arbitrary decision to move the school from its temporary location to an area 8 km away until such time as it gets its permanent location. The Minister knows that in a suburban area of Dublin, that has a huge impact. I ask her to change that decision. That is a huge demand from the community.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I appreciate, particularly in areas of huge growth, how important it is to have an adequate number of schools and schools adjacent to and near where students are living. That is the most important thing.

My Department has a robust forward planning process which considers population and enrolment data. When it comes to the Dublin 15 area, the Department tells me there is sufficient post-primary school capacity to cater for the existing population. Looking ahead it is also making sure we are looking at projected population expansion, new developments and other people who may come into the area. One relevant indicator is that there are more first-year places available in the existing post-primary schools than there are sixth-class pupils living in the Dublin 15 area.

Furthermore, officials in my Department have an ongoing engagement with Fingal County Council in respect of planning new residential developments. Based on this available information and other elements, the school capital projects in the existing schools building programme are expected to cater for the projected additional school place demands resulting from such developments. My Department is satisfied there is no requirement for a new school in that area. However, it has established that there is currently considerable movement of Dublin 15 pupils out of the local communities in which they live to attend post-primary schools. This is most acute in the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown planning area where enrolment numbers are significantly lower than the school-going population. There are currently more than 1,000 post-primary school pupils leaving this area each day to attend school in other parts of Dublin 15.

Ériu Community College, as the Deputy mentioned, was established in 2020 on an interim basis in Dublin 15. This was in response to the identified deficit of local capacity. My Department has determined that Hollywoodrath is the most appropriate permanent location for this school and will provide much-needed capacity in the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown area, while freeing up capacity in other schools in Dublin 15. That assists in addressing the imbalance of post-primary school capacity across the area. I will refer to the other schools where we know there is additional capacity.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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The reality is that both areas need secondary schools. I will give the demographics. With all due respect, the Department of Education has had an inglorious history of misplanning educational need in this area and, I am sure, in many others. Ongar, where Ériu Community College is currently located, had the highest birth rate in 2024, according to the CSO. Some 32% of the population is under 18, so where are they to go to school? The only school in the area is at capacity. Fingal, overall, has the youngest population in the country, so there is going to be a massive need for schools in all locations. I know the need in Tyrellstown, which is an area in which my daughter went to school. It needs a school as well. That is the reality. We are asking the Minister to stop the penny-pinching. People should not have to campaign for schools. They should be able to get a school. There are no transport links whatever between both areas.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I will outline the capacity that exists in that area. Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School was established for 1,000 pupils. It has 848 pupils enrolled at present. Edmund Rice College, which was established for 1,000 pupils, has 813 pupils enrolled at present. An extension planned for Castleknock Community College will provide approximately 200 additional places. That is essentially a school between the three colleges which have capacity. In addition, there is scope for further expansion in the existing post-primary schools should additional places be required. It seems the demand and need are in the Tyrellstown area, where 1,000 pupils are leaving the area to go to other schools. The intention was that this school would never be permanent. It was to be a temporary base until the new school was developed. I appreciate this might impact the students who are currently in the school, as the Deputy mentioned. They are moving 9 km away. However, by the time the permanent school is built, the majority of those will have moved on. The class of 2027-28 will be new. However, the transition for those who are left will have to be carefully managed. The Department will continue to review this. As the Deputy said, we have to do that because demographics change over time.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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There are TDs in the area from the Minister's own party demanding the schools. This is not just the Opposition. There is unanimity that both locations need schools. If the Minister is telling parents they have to go to Tyrellstown from the Ongar catchment, which is a different catchment, does she have transport lined up? I have already sent her Department a group of parents who have no transport between these areas. They cannot get school transport and there is no bus link. The reality is that this is penny-pinching by the Minister's Department. There is no other reason. It will be a blow to Dublin 15 to cede that this school will move, because we need schools in both locations and we are sick, sore and tired of having to have public meetings and protests for mainstream schools. I will say nothing of the fact that there is a task force in Dublin 15 on special education. The Minister has already demonstrated that her Department cannot plan educational provision in the area. This is yet another example and we want her to reverse this decision.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The reason that Ériu Community College is moving back is that there are 1,000 pupils moving out of the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown area every day to attend other parts of the school. I appreciate the Deputy's point that other parts of the community are expanding and growing. The Department has to plan ahead looking at the data it has and is available. To plan for school provision, you have to look at the demographic data. It is divided into 314 different school areas from a range of sources. There is the CSO data, the child benefit data, school enrolment data as well as developments in the local authorities. The Deputy has outlined it is a young and growing population. This is taken into consideration when there is a new development and new schools are being looked at and, in particular, what area they should go into. It is on that basis that these decisions have been taken, but I am open to this because I know in the south of Meath in my home county there has been a massive growth in population. Where we need additional schools to those that have already been planned, we need to always keep these figures and projections under review. It will take time for this school to move to its new location, so the students the Deputy has mentioned will most likely serve their school time-----

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Thank you, Minister, we are way over.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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-----and finish their schooling in the area they are currently in. Of course, any issues around transport and so on have to be addressed.