James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have raised the issue of education and the need for more schools in my constituency and many other urban areas quite a bit in the past 12 months and before that. I have been talking to a few councillor colleagues. I believe there would be a benefit if the Minister would consider putting together a forum, at least on an annual or six-monthly basis, between the Department and interested councillors so they can inform the Department of the needs within their own areas and keep abreast of what it has planned for their areas. In towns such as Balbriggan, Swords, Rush, Lusk and Skerries in Fingal, there is a significant need for more schools whereas, in other areas, the issues could be of a different nature. Just like we have a HSE forum for councillors that meets on a regular basis, I believe there would be value for councillors to have access to such a forum with the Department of Education and Skills.

It would to help inform the Department of the needs in the area and inform its policy decisions, and allow us to predict with greater certainty what is happening, in particular given recent demographic changes. As in the past, houses are built, families move in, children are born and they attend school five years later, and people can see what is happening.However, with our current housing situation and the movement of people, we have many families arriving already complete into areas such as Skerries, Balbriggan, Rush, Lusk, Swords, Malahide and Portmarnock. They already have children of secondary school-going age, which makes being able to predict the demand a little more difficult for the Department, and I accept that. The bottom line, however, is that we now have a crisis in north Dublin in that we have families unable to say where their children will go to secondary school next year. One instance in Skerries involves fourth-generation Skerries people on both sides of the family going back through parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. This is utterly unacceptable and must be addressed. The Minister was very good to come to visit the school and meet the people affected. However, there is very much a case for the Minister, first, to meet parents' representatives from the area and, second, to come before the House to discuss with us how we might put such a forum together in order to avail of the on-the-ground knowledge many councillors have and could contribute.