Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I second the motion and welcome the Minister to the House. I propose to address an issue which arose recently in Balbriggan and provide examples of the types of problems the Minister needs to address.

Balbriggan has featured prominently in the news in recent weeks as a result of a lack of school places at primary level. A school, Bracken Educate Together, was opened at the last minute to accommodate children who could not secure places in existing schools in the area. Balbriggan is an example of crisis management in primary education. Other areas in the greater Dublin area, including my parish of Skerries, are having similar experiences with severe pressure on schools to provide places. School planning, particularly at primary level, has been a disaster.

Balbriggan is a good example of a fast growing town in the greater Dublin area. It is worthwhile commenting on some of the problems the town is experiencing as a result of rapid growth. Of the eight primary schools in the catchment area, which includes Balrothery and Balscadden, five are under Catholic patronage, one is under Church of Ireland patronage, two, including the much publicised Bracken Educate Together school, are under Educate Together patronage and one is a Gaelscoil. There is, therefore, considerable diversity in primary education in the town. The most recent three schools to open in the area are not under faith-based patronage, a trend which is increasingly reflected in other areas.

In recent years, Balbriggan has emerged as a rapid growth area. According to the most recent census, the population of the town increased from 10,294 in 2002 to 15,559 in 2006, a massive rise of 51.1%. While this population growth presents major challenges for the Minister, it did not happen overnight. There were many indicators along the way, including land rezonings, planning applications, housing starts and completions, all of which are widely used economic indicators.

Forecasting for primary school place demand may not be a particularly difficult exercise but it requires attention and must be carried out by somebody. It is the responsibility of the Minister and her Department to anticipate demand, have schools in place when they are needed and provide the necessary teachers and places. As we have observed in the case of Balbriggan, meeting these requirements has proved challenging for the Minister and her Department.

In responding to the current problems the Minister has blamed others, including local authorities. I heard her adopt this position on "Today with Pat Kenny". While I do not suggest the local authorities are blameless in these matters — an integrated approach which includes the local authorities is needed — it is the responsibility of the Minister to ensure effective planning in this regard. She must take ownership of the process rather than abdicating responsibility.

The recent suggestion that demand for primary school places in Balbriggan crept up on the Department this year is simply not acceptable and does not stand up to scrutiny. Principals and patrons of existing primary schools in Balbriggan have regularly highlighted the problem of increasing demand for school places since 1999. Excerpts from correspondence to the Department, which I have seen, include statements noting that the Balbriggan catchment area was expanding daily with literally hundreds of new houses under construction; uproar would ensue in the community if something was not done; one of the schools urgently required additional accommodation; and the town was set to explode. The recent events in Balbriggan were a crisis waiting to happen and had been predicted. Despite repeated warnings by people involved in primary education in the town, someone took an eye off the ball.

The Labour Party has published detailed proposals on planning for school places in which we argue that the National Treasury Management Agency be given the task of tracking residential development and population patterns. The NTMA should develop a model which would be able to predict when and where demographic change will lead to a demand for school places. It must also address the many existing education black spots, including north and west Dublin. Irrespective of which body or agency performs this task, demand planning must take place. This issue could feature on the agenda of the forum the motion proposes.

I will discuss briefly the issues of patronage, enrolment policy and suggestions of discrimination. Enrolment policies for faith based primary schools, whether the patron is the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland or another faith, give priority to children of their own faith where demand outstrips available places. These are based on guidelines from the faith based patrons, namely, the bishops or archbishops. They are not, as has been suggested, at the discretion of individual school boards of management.

People should have a choice. If parents want to send their children to a school with a Catholic, Church of Ireland, Jewish or other ethos, so be it. However, the State should be the patron of a school where appropriate. It is only when there are insufficient places available that enrolment policies become a problem, which the Minister recognises given her comments in the other House. No school can refuse a child a place, irrespective of religion or ethos, if places are available.

I do not accept the suggestion in some parts of the media that there is discrimination in primary education in Balbriggan and the area's school principals have been hurt by these suggestions. In one of the primary schools to which I referred, 25% of pupils are non-Irish, with a high proportion of those being black, which does not suggest a discriminatory enrolment policy. A principal reminded me that if he is faced with a choice between a Catholic Nigerian child and a non-Catholic Irish child, he must give the place to the former in accordance with enrolment policy. He has no discretion. These problems for principals can be eliminated with proper planning.

Regarding another issue, 50% of the school's pupils are taught in 12 prefabricated buildings despite there being adequate land in the parish's ownership around the school to extend the school properly. It is not a local authority issue, but relates to a commitment on the part of the Department. Prefabs cost approximately €1,000 per month to rent and present a constant worry to principals due to the possible outbreak of fire. It is a false economy and is not good enough for our children, as prefabs do not pass for proper school buildings.

Our motion calls for a national convention on education to be established, which is important given the changing face and increasing diversity in society and the fact that churches are increasingly declaring their intent to pull out of education. In the meantime, we must get the basic school planning right because much depends on it. If we get the planning right, we will have fewer problems.