Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I cannot imagine how difficult and stressful it is not to have a place in school for a child going into secondary school, especially given the important transition and the important age at which it happens. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. She would like me to clarify the current position relating to post-primary school provision in Galway city.

She states that for school planning purposes, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. In addition, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements. Projections of post-primary school place requirements are informed by multiple factors, including primary school enrolments in the area and primary to post-primary transfer patterns, which I imagine are reasonably consistent.

As the Senator is aware, following an assessment of post-primary school place requirements, a new school, Galway Educate Together Secondary School was established in 2019 to serve the Galway city and Oranmore school planning areas. The Department's projections of post-primary school place requirements in Galway city show some continued growth in overall enrolments in the short to medium term. The Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in Galway city. However, it points out it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by some of the following factors: duplication of applications where pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area, the Senator stated his constituents had applied to five schools; the school of choice, where pupils cannot get a place in their preferred school where there are places in other schools in the town or area; some towns or areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils; and external draw, that is pupils coming from outside the local area.

The Department is working to establish the true extent of any capacity issues across school planning areas through ongoing discussions with the relevant school patrons and authorities. It would be appropriate to contact the Senator and other representatives to provide the true picture if it is different to the one the Senator's constituents are experiencing. If additional spaces are available as a consequence of some of the factors I have mentioned, including the duplication of applications or other things, they may not be visible to individual principals or parents, but they should be visible to the Department which is conducting this assessment. I hope that will be provided to the Senator at the earliest possible opportunity to enable him to communicate with his constituents to try to ease their concerns as they approach their September decisions.

The Senator will also be aware that the Department is progressing a number of building projects in Galway city under the national development plan. The most significant project is a 1,000 pupil school building for the recently established Galway Educate Together Secondary School which will also include provision for students with special educational needs. Additional projects have been approved or are under assessment at schools in Galway, including a major project for St. Joseph’s Patrician College to expand the school to 1,000 pupils as well as provision for students with special educational needs. This project is currently at stage 2b. Coláiste Éinde has an additional school accommodation project for specialist accommodation and general purpose classrooms currently at stage 1. In addition, there is a major project for Coláiste Mhuire Mháthair to expand the school to 1,000 pupils as well as increased provision for students with special educational needs. That project is also at stage 1.