Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am always heartened when I hear that the Department is having regard to local area plans and national plans. As he is well aware, however, just because the Office of the Planning Regulator and the national planning framework state that a particular location is where population growth will happen does not mean that is always the case. I want to avoid a situation whereby communities must actively campaign in the context of overcrowded schools or circumstances where children cannot get school places. There should always be a guarantee that a child will be able to attain a school place within their local community. There is a big concern in what we might call the greater Dublin commuter belt that this is not happening. My concerns relate specifically to Gorey, where the Department is constantly playing catch-up. We must have regard to circumstances on the ground.