Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I attest to the Cathaoirleach's words about how supportive she is of the Seanad and how readily available she is to come to the Chamber to speak to us on pertinent education issues. She always begins her contributions by thanking teachers and school communities for the incredible work they do. That is important and much appreciated. Our teaching community is exemplary in the work its members do in providing supports to all the children within their care.

I will refer to teacher numbers briefly before moving on to school places, which is the issue about which I am more concerned. The Minister will be aware of that from discussions we have had both in the Chamber and privately. I appreciate what she outlined regarding the new measures coming into place to increase teacher numbers. She indicated that teachers coming from outside Ireland will be able to register to teach here. That is a game changer and will be very important. Another game changer is that third and fourth year student teachers can now register to teach, which more than 2,100 of them have done. Those young people will be able to learn and earn at the same time.

We are very much moving in the right direction on teacher numbers. It is important to acknowledge that average class sizes at primary level have fallen to 22.8. As we know from all the research, children learn and socialise better when there is a smaller pupil-teacher ratio within the classroom. We are conscious of the impact on some schools that are currently experiencing recruitment challenges. I know that ensuring there are enough teachers available is a priority for the Minister. This is important because we want to ensure every child's experience in school is positive, which requires that pupils have qualified, engaged and supportive teachers.

As I said, the availability of school places is an issue of particular concern for me, as it is for the wider community in south Kildare, especially around the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. We have experienced significant school place pressures in recent years. As Newbridge and Kildare town continue to grow and prosper, there is an unequal amount of development. I am conscious of the pressure this brings on school places but the onus to address that should not just be on the Minister, as I always say. There also is an onus on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the local authorities, which in this case is Kildare County Council. We must build sustainable communities whereby when planning permission is given for housing, there is also adequate provision for school places. We need to be able to work at pace in this regard. There must also be adequate provision of leisure amenities, access to GP services and access to sustainable transport modes.I have been raising the red flag within the Oireachtas for the last seven years regarding Newbridge and Kildare. The rate of growth of housing is far outpacing all of our infrastructural advances and our resources are maxed out. Our towns are continuing to grow, which is a welcome boost for our local economies. However, at the same time, we are seeing congestion and parents completely stressed by not being able to get school places. I know that measures have been put in place in relation to the new school in Magee Barracks and of the possibility of new places at the Curragh. However, we need to see a more streamlined and co-ordinated approach as to how we allocate school places. TheMinister mentioned the fact that many parents apply to more than one school and, in many cases, accept more than one place. This makes it really difficult for other parents who are waiting. I was in France recently through a Council of Europe project and I spoke to the minister for education there. In France, there is no choice regarding schools. Children are allocated a school so they do not have this situation. I am not necessarily suggesting we do that here but it certainly gives us food for thought.

The duplication that exists is a key issue. I regularly speak to desperate parents who have children on lists. They may be 50 on one list, 70 on another one and 80 on another one. I know a pilot scheme has been put in place for Newbridge and Kildare, with an independent person in the Department looking at the differences. I am really interested in hearing where that is at. More could be done regarding long-term population-demand analysis between the local authorities and the Department of Education.

On special needs, we are inundated with demand from Rathangan, Newbridge and Milltown. In my role as spokesperson for education, I regularly have contact from councillors around the country and I understand from them that this situation does not just apply to Newbridge and Kildare. Councillor Stephen McKee has been in regular contact about the need for a secondary school in Duleek, Councillor Shane Moynihan has been in contact about secondary school places in Lucan and Clondalkin, Councillor Catherine Fitzgerald has been in contact about Portlaoise and Councillor Frank O'Flynn has been in contact about Fermoy.