Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter as I welcome the opportunity to explain the position with regard to how new schools are planned and to address the issue of the Glencullen catchment area which the Senator wants to be part of the school feeder area for the proposed new Educate Together post-primary school in Stepaside.

First, the school to which the Senator refers is not being provided for the children of Glencullen. The school is being specifically provided for the children of the Ballinteer-Stepaside school feeder area. Glencullen is in a different school feeder area known as the Kilternan school feeder area. I am pleased to be able to tell the Senator that a separate new post-primary school is starting up in September 2016 under the patronage of Educate Together to cater for the children of the Kilternan, Ballybrack-Shankill and Bray school feeder areas. As Glencullen is in the Kilternan school feeder area, this second school will cater for children from that area from September 2016.

I will explain in more depth. For school planning purposes, the country is divided into school feeder areas. A school feeder area has one or more post-primary schools into which designated primary schools feed. School feeder areas do not change as this would defeat the orderly planning of school provision. Due to the unprecedented demographic growth in this country over the past decade or more, 24 new primary schools and 26 new post-primary schools have been or are in the process of being established. The purpose of each of these schools is to meet a specific demographic need within a defined geographic area known as a school feeder area. In other words, the establishment of these schools is to ensure every child living in a particular school feeder area can have access to a physical school place within that area.

As part of the patronage determination processes to establish who will operate the new schools, prospective patrons must commit to enrolling, as a priority, pupils from the area for whom the school is intended. The Department would expect to see this in the enrolment policies for new schools to ensure the children for whom the school is being provided are not displaced by pupils living in another school feeder area who would have their own post-primary provision.

The new post-primary school for the Ballinteer-Stepaside school feeder area is opening in part in response to a need to provide 1,500 extra post-primary school places for children resident in the geographical area in question. The remainder of the places are being provided by a new all-Irish Gaelcholáiste. Separately, a new post-primary school with 1,000 pupil places is required to meet the demographic needs of the Kilternan, Ballybrack-Shankill and Bray school feeder areas. As indicated, the Kilternan school feeder area contains Glencullen.

Again and as I said, consistent with the criteria for establishing all new schools, the patron of this school, which is Educate Together, will be expected to give priority access to children from these feeder areas in its enrolment policy for this school, including children from Glencullen. The Department is working on start-up accommodation for both of these new schools and permanent accommodation will be made available for them as soon as a site has been secured to allow this development. I hope my explanation provides clarity relating to new school provision in the Senator's area. The criteria for the establishment of new schools and all documentation relating to the award of patronage for individual schools are published on the Department's website. I think people will find that quite useful so the Senator might be able to advise some of her constituents to have a look at it because it also includes the maps of the areas to be served by the new schools. I hope the information is helpful to the Senator and clarifies her concerns. The fact that two new schools are on the way is good news for both areas.