Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We woke up to the news in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times that parents of children in commuter belt areas like Castleknock and Carpenterstown are being written to and advised by education authorities to apply to multiple secondary schools because of the level of oversubscription to schools in areas of high enrolment pressure. Almost half of all secondary schools across the State are set to be oversubscribed in the coming year. The authorities have also said there is excess capacity in the system, but particular areas are under pressure. I simply do not understand this approach. There are ways to deal with the problem and ways not to deal with it. In solving one problem, the Minister will create a larger problem elsewhere.

It is not as if there are not other proven effective ways to deal with this which I have already flagged with the Minister. Her solution is to ask parents to swamp schools with applications, including schools I imagine will be outside of a given catchment area. That only leads to oversubscription, bulging waiting lists and worry and panic for parents who do not believe that there will be a school place at the end of a waiting list of 300 or more. Parents will wait for months and make multiple phone calls to schools in order to secure places. This requires the use of resources on the part of schools and results in last-minute phone calls in August, on the eve of school starting, when parents may have taken places in other schools, to say that places are now available in their preferred school.

I do not understand this approach. The Department could have acted to implement a common application process in the areas where there is high demand earlier this year. Common applications processes are tried and tested in other parts of the country. These processes are led by schools and patrons. They involved common application forms and an opportunity for parents and students to outline their preferences.It is managed by all the schools together so that they can strip out the duplications. They generally have a common deadline for applications as well. It means that children who want a place in a particular school have a better chance of getting it rather than what is happening, in my area in particular, where two schools, Edmund Rice College and Castleknock Community College, which are in the Carpenterstown and Castleknock areas, are both oversubscribed and children are travelling to one school in another part of Castleknock even though they would prefer to go to the local school and vice versa. A common applications process would sort that out. In addition, I have talked to other schools that have seen a huge increase in applications but, at the end of it, have not necessarily got the children living in their locality into the school. By the time they have filled all of their places, they are actually catering to children outside the catchment area because of the bulge involved in this approach.

I got a commitment from the Minister in April that she would review a common applications process and that actions were being advanced with schools and education partners for 2025 admissions to better align timeframes for applications and strengthen data-sharing arrangements. What has happened to that promise of reform for a system that is not working and is the opposite of child-centred?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, who is otherwise engaged.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter, which she has raised persistently over recent months, as it provides me with the opportunity to outline steps the Department of Education is taking to support post-primary schools in managing and co-ordinating their enrolment processes for September 2025, including in the Dublin West area. The provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs, is an absolute priority for the Department of Education.

Under the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, parents have the right to choose which school to apply to, and where the school has places available, the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process will be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. The Act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in respect of their admission criteria and how they are applied. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves.

The Department has been putting in place a number of measures to support post-primary schools, including in Dublin West, in managing and effectively co-ordinating their admissions processes. These include the following. The Department has improved the central post-primary online database IT system that schools use to register student enrolments. This is an important improvement and is available to assist schools to manage the enrolment process and provide real-time notification to schools where a new student has accepted a school place in more than one school. This will help identify duplicate enrolments at a very early stage. The Department has written to all parents and guardians of children in sixth class with advice and guidance regarding the admissions process for post-primary for the 2025-26 school year. This letter advised parents to apply to multiple schools in areas where there is high demand and requested parents to take steps to avoid holding multiple places. The successful data-sharing arrangements that were implemented for the 2024-25 admissions process in areas of enrolment pressure will be put in place again for 2025-26, including for areas in Dublin. It is expected that, as in previous years, the data sharing will provide confidence that there is sufficient school place availability in the majority of areas. However, if a shortfall of places is identified in an area, the Department will work with schools to put the necessary solutions in place.

With respect to a common applications system, there are complexities in the admissions process that can be challenging to manage, relating to factors such as individual school admission policies and locations where there is a lot of inward and outward movement. Nevertheless, the Department has been working to identify how learnings from the common applications system in Limerick and Ennis might be applied in other areas in future years with a view to improving the process for families and schools.

At a national level, Ireland has experienced growth in overall post-primary enrolments, and this is projected to continue in many parts of the country over the next number of years before beginning to decline. However, first year enrolments nationally are expected to have already peaked in the 2023-24 school year. The Department’s forward-planning analysis takes account of local factors, in particular, residential development activity, when determining capacity required in an area.

The Department’s projections for post-primary school place requirements in Dublin West indicate some continued increase in 2026. In the context of projected overall population growth, it is anticipated there will be increasing school place requirements in the medium to long term. There are, however, a number of school building projects recently delivered or in train which are delivering significant additional further capacity across Dublin West. Projects currently delivered on site or in train include new school buildings at Adamstown Community College, Kingswood Community College, Coláiste Pobail Fóla and Griffeen Community College, as well as major projects at Holy Family Community School, Tallaght Community School, St. Joseph's College and Lucan Community College.

I will come back in on a supplementary reply but I hope this offers some path forward for the Senator.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. The Department improved the central post-primary online database IT system that was in place last year but did not deal with the issue. It is writing to parents to encourage them to write to multiple schools and requesting parents to take steps to avoid holding multiple places. That is a request, whereas a common applications process would solve that issue. The Department is saying there were successful data-sharing arrangements implemented for last year which will be used again this year.

All of these are reactive, however, not proactive. The Department is reactive whenever parents and students are already in a process where they are waiting months. Reform of the system in a common applications process would deal with this before Christmas. I do not understand why we would be in a place where, to solve a problem, we are actually creating a bigger problem. It is happening too often. The Department needs to stay on top of capacity in each school area in forward planning. The schools it referenced are actually in Dublin Mid-West, not Dublin West. It also has to address the attraction to other schools in areas as a result of investment. We cannot invest in particular schools and then leave other schools without investment, thereby making those particular schools more attractive. That is happening in our area as well. I particularly want to see more investment in Coolmine Community School.

Another instance of solving one problem by creating another is in the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart area, where they are opening a new secondary school by moving a school that was outside of that catchment, in Hansfield, to that area, but leaving the community without forward planning for their secondary school places in an area of growth. In the round, the Department needs to be proactive and deal with these issues in a way that does not create more problems.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Senator’s points are noted. Certainly, the Department is proactive. It is using demographics and CSO data to inform its planning. As I said, the growth we are seeing will peak and taper off, but perhaps not so profoundly in the greater Dublin area and Dublin West.

Regarding the common applications system, especially for special educational needs provision, at primary level in Dublin 15, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, has asked her Department and the National Council for Special Education to establish a new task force to discuss ways to support the forward planning for special education provision in the Dublin 15 area ahead of the next school year, 2025-2026. The new task force is due to have its first meeting next week. Its work will be led by an independent chairperson and the group will include members representing parents and schools. Among the issues this task force will consider will be measures to support a common application process for primary special class enrolments.

The Senator’s lobbying has paid some dividends, so well done in that regard. I accept the point she made that it is critically important we get the balance right to take that stress from parents and families in what is a very challenging time anyway.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Currie for raising what is an important Commencement matter this morning. I thank the Minister of State for taking all four Commencement matters. We know he is busy and we appreciate his time in the Seanad.