Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask that the Minister for Education come to the House to discuss building projects. I have raised this matter previously, but there is a dearth of information on key strategic projects in Dublin West. This issue affects other areas as well. I wish to discuss the unnecessary stress and heartache caused by long admissions timelines and a lack of co-ordination. This year in Dublin 15, families have received letters from schools placing their children on long waiting lists. It has caused a great amount of anxiety about whether there will be places available at the end of the school year. That anxiety has proven correct, in that the lists are not dropping and people are still waiting. There is much at play in this.There are very popular schools that people want their children to attend. People are holding places in a number of schools. The knock-on effect of that on schools that might not be the first priority is that they do not know whether they will need the resources they are seeking because they might lose students at the end of the process to a preferred school. There is much uncertainty, with people holding on to duplicate offers of places.

In my area, some of the schools are working together to draw out the duplication. However, because there is a bigger area involved than what is covered by just those schools, the issue is affecting all 11 schools in Dublin West, which includes Dublin 15. In other areas, including Limerick and north Dublin, a central applications process has been introduced that has worked very well. It does not mean all applicants get what they want but the process is done quickly. There are common admissions deadlines and a common forum in which people get to set out their preference. It takes into consideration that a child might be offered a place in one school but would prefer another school. Preferences are taken into account and it speeds up the whole process.

Right now, we do not know whether there are enough school places in Dublin 15. My instinct is that there are enough because there are schools that were not at capacity last year and in previous years. However, the stress on parents, schools and the Department is too much. Let us take that on and look at introducing a central applications process for those schools.