Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Dolan for her contribution on such an important area as school places. The Commencement matter relates to mainstream places but I might mention special classes and special school places as well. The former come under the remit of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, as opposed to me but I am happy to provide this response.

In regard to home tuition, which was mentioned in the matter raised, the Department operates three categories of home tuition: special educational needs on medical grounds; reasons other than special educational needs on medical grounds; and maternity-related absences. The purpose of the grant scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short-term intervention. I understand that in Ballinasloe one home tuition was sanctioned where there was no school place.

The no school place scheme, which falls into the category of home tuition for reasons other than special educational needs on medical grounds, is available where a child is temporarily without a school place and is actively seeking a school placement or may be taking an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act following expulsion. Those who qualify for this grant scheme can employ a tutor to provide nine hours home tuition per week. This scheme is operated with the assistance of the educational welfare services of the Child and Family Agency. Application forms for this grant scheme are available from the educational welfare officer. Some 174 students received home tuition under the no school place scheme during the 2022-23 school year across the country. As I indicated, there was one place in Ballinasloe.

In general terms, in regard to school planning purposes, which is a concern of Senator Dolan, as it has been in the past in relation to special education also, forward planning is critical. That is the approach the Department takes on a daily basis. While at times it may seem that there is a panic about where children will find places, that is obviously something the Department looks at, not just for next year but for the following five years, as Senator Dolan mentioned. The Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. It gets the information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, which is used for this purpose.

Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets are also used. Projections for post-primary school place requirements are informed by multiple factors, including primary school enrolments in the area and primary to post-primary transfer patterns. Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date information on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools' infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes as there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development. Where demographic data indicate that additional provision is required, the delivery of this provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided, for example, through existing unused capacity within a school or schools, by extending the capacity of a school or schools or through the provision of a new school.

Ballinasloe town is in the Ballinasloe school planning area. There are 17 primary schools in the school planning area, one of which, as the Senator is aware, is a special school – St. Teresa's, which I visited. My Department's projections indicate some continued growth in primary school place requirements across the school planning area out to 2040.