Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the mechanism whereby her Department is kept informed of population changes in each local authority area which will affect the demand for school places in that area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5066/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary or post-primary level in any given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Liaison with existing schools is also an important part of the process, as the school authorities would usually alert the Department where, in their view, the need for additional accommodation is anticipated. In this way, every effort is made to ensure that there is adequate existing provision, or that timely arrangements are made to extend capacity or provide new infrastructure where necessary.

In addition, Local Authorities are obliged by statute to refer draft local area development plans to the Department for observation and comment so that lands can be zoned for future education use. There are numerous sites reserved for education purposes particularly in the rapidly developing areas so as to ensure that there will be sufficient land set aside and available for the future development of education infrastructure.

Over and above the statutory consultation provisions in relation to local authority draft area development plans, the Department has in recent years worked to strengthen contacts with local authorities to enable informed decisions to be made in planning future educational provision.