Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise two issues today. The first is about school places. I know there is a meeting tonight regarding the lack of school places in Properous in mid-Kildare. This is an ongoing issue that I have raised. I ask that a debate be organised with the Minister for Education. The specific issue I want to raise on school places today relates to Scoil Mhuire in Ballymore Eustace, in my own area of south Kildare. There is an issue with primary school places. The school can only take in 26 students each year. Unfortunately, they are oversubscribed for this year. Under the admissions policy, they have to go on age. This policy means that there are families who already have two children attending the school but their third child has been refused because they are not up to the age or there are older children in line to get the place. The school is looking for a change in the rule that it needs to wait a year for an additional teacher. The school has the classroom and wants the Minister for Education to consider changing this rule. I ask the Leader to write to the Minister in this regard. To me it seems perfectly feasible, given that the space is available in the school, that the pupils of Scoil Mhuire in Ballymore Eustace in south Kildare could actually go to school in the area of their choice, if the rule was changed.

The other issue I want to raise today has been raised by Senator Byrne. I acknowledge that the Senator had a Bill on this, as I had myself. This is the use of CCTV cameras by local authorities. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, has confirmed that local authorities can now use CCTV in the enforcement process against illegal dumping. I have spoken at length about this in the House, as other Senators have as well. From the figures we have, we know that local authorities are spending close to €100 million per year on cleaning up illegal dumping throughout the State. I am asking for a debate with the Minister on properly resourcing local authorities to allow them to purchase CCTV cameras and to have the resources and the personnel to, once and for all, go after the people doing this illegal dumping. We are coming into spring cleaning month. We want to see our countryside, rural areas and towns on show as best they can be.