Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 210: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when catchment areas within County Wexford will be sorted out, particularly those in the Blackwater area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8127/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Catchment boundaries have their origins in the establishment of free post-primary education in the late 1960s and were determined following consultation with local educational interests. For planning purposes the country was divided into geographic districts each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary centre with one or more post-primary schools. The intention was and continues to be that these defined districts facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs.

Reviews of catchment areas generally only take place when a post-primary school closes or when a new post primary school is being established. In the circumstances, it is not intended to carry out a review of county Wexford catchment boundaries.