Written answers

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Department of Education and Science

School Accommodation

9:00 pm

Photo of Arthur MorganArthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the timeframe for his proposed survey of school accommodation in primary and secondary level; and when it is proposed that this work will commence. [37103/09]

Photo of Batt O'KeeffeBatt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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In order to improve the information systems available to my Department in relation to primary and post-primary schools, my Department's Forward Planning Section uses Geographical Information System technology which contains a certain level of information on all schools in the country, at both primary and post primary level.

To further expand and improve the capabilities of the system, arrangements are being made to conduct a survey of accommodation at primary and post-primary level that will be linked to other information held in the GIS including information on demographic trends across the country.

Work on the development of an online facility for the compilation of the inventory of school accommodation referred to by the Deputy is well advanced. The detailed functional specification for the Inventory has been completed and work is currently underway on building the online interface and database to hold the information.

The online facility will enable schools to provide information about their accommodation, including its composition in terms of permanent and temporary structures, electronically to the Department. The Department will also be collecting information on the age of existing school accommodation including both purchased and rented prefabs. The inventory will also include information on size of school sites.

Schools will be able to access the online facility through the Department's Esinet portal. Initially it is planned that a small number of schools will be given access to the facility for testing. This is scheduled to take place in November. It is expected that the facility will be made available to all schools to start uploading information before the end of 2009.

When all the information has been received from schools, the Inventory will provide key data and statistics on the existing school building stock throughout the country at both primary and post-primary levels. It will enable the Department to more accurately calculate capacity in existing school accommodation and therefore identify where additional accommodation is required.

When the information has been compiled and analysed, it is intended to publish it and this is likely to happen before the end of the current school year.

Photo of Michael D HigginsMichael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the implications for primary school forward planning in view of recent data from the Central Statistics Office which indicated that the birth rate here is the highest in Europe and the highest birth rate since 1896; the arrangements that have been and will be put in place to ensure that there are adequate primary school places in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37094/09]

Photo of Batt O'KeeffeBatt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the number of births in this country continues to rise, my Department is faced with the challenge of providing accommodation to cater for a ten percent increase in school-aged children, and to establish where, throughout the country, this accommodation will be required. In 2000 there were 54,789 births in Ireland, while the 2008 figure is 75,065, a 37% increase over the period. The 2008 figure is the highest number recorded since 1896 and means that the total enrolments in primary schools may grow from 498,914 pupils in the 2008/09 year to in excess of 590,000 by year 2020.

While these figures indicate the situation at the national level, the challenge is to establish in which locations the school going cohort will increase most significantly, so that sufficient school accommodation can be put in place to meet demand. To this end the Department is utilising a Geographical Information System (GIS). The Department's GIS utilises data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordinance Survey Ireland, the General Registers Office and the Department of Social Welfare and Family Affairs, in addition to data from local authorities.

GIS allows the Department to conduct detailed analysis on the demographics of each part of the country, and enables the Department to model a range of forecast scenarios for each area for the coming years and assess the likely changes to the school going population in those areas.

The accommodation needs of each area will be considered in this context and addressed under the school building and modernisation programme consistent with the priority attaching to individual projects and the availability of funding.

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