Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)
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I apologise to the Minister of State for detaining him. This is the second year parents have queued overnight to seek enrolment for their daughters at Loreto College in Swords. This year the queue started 48 hours in advance of the allocation of places. We all know there have long been queues for housing in Dublin but when parents queue for school places we must do something about it. I hope the Minister of State's reply will state there are sufficient places in the Swords catchment area.

Does the school's board of management have responsibility for enrolment procedures or can the Department of Education and Science do something about the situation? Is there some way of avoiding it next year?

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, for raising this matter as it provides an opportunity to outline to the House the current position on post-primary places in the Swords area.

Despite attempts in the media to create an impression that there is a shortage of pupil places in the Swords area, this is not the case. This has become an annual media event because of the way in which one school in particular implements its enrolment policy. It is unfortunate that this type of coverage creates an inaccurate picture of the actual position and I am glad of the opportunity to put the record straight.

There are four post-primary schools in the Swords area, three of which enrol girls. One of the schools, namely, Loreto College, is an all girls' school. The type and level of provision in the area provides considerable choice for parents. Between them the four schools cater for pupils from the Swords and north Dublin area. Crucial to the essence of this debate, enrolments at these schools have remained stable since 1997-98, showing only a 0.5% increase. There is no question, therefore, of a shortage of places arising. Parents themselves pointed out in media reports that they were simply exercising choice by queuing for the school in question because the school operates enrolment on a first come, first served basis and has done so for some years.

The main responsibility of the Department of Education and Science is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking second level places. This may result in pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice, hence the scenario of parents queuing to enrol at Loreto College last weekend. Again, this occurred because of a combination of parental choice and the enrolment procedure operated by the school's management authority.

Furthermore, while Loreto College has an application with the Department for ancillary accommodation, it has not applied for additional classroom accommodation to cater for increased capacity. Having said that, the Department accepts that Swords is an area of population growth and while there may be a demand in future years for additional provision at post-primary level, the Department is satisfied that currently, between them, the four existing post-primary schools have adequate provision to cater for existing demand.

Officials in the school planning section of the Department of Education and Science are carrying out a review of educational needs in the north Dublin east, Meath south and Louth area, including Swords, by way of a draft area development plan. The need for additional future post-primary provision in Swords as a whole is being considered in this context.

The draft plan is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Following this, a public consultation process will be conducted by the commission on school accommodation. The process will culminate in a final area development plan, which will provide a blueprint for educational infrastructure in the area for the next decade, including the need or otherwise to provide additional post-primary school provision in Swords.

Again, I thank the Senator for raising this matter and I hope that I have given assurance to parents seeking places for their children at second level in Swords that any panic created by media reports is misplaced and that places are available for all those seeking them.

Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply.