Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 264: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science the efforts that are being made to resolve the accommodation impasse at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that retention of planning at its current premises was rejected by Kildare County Council and An Bord Pleanála in August 2009 and that efforts by the school to apply for planning permission elsewhere have been refused sanction by the school planning section of her Department; the reason unrestricted recognition is not being provided even though the school has a 140 pupils at this stage and is set to double pupil numbers over the next three to five years with other similar schools in neighbouring counties being granted status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17473/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is aware of the accommodation issues at the school to which the Deputy refers. Notwithstanding the fact that the school has provisional recognition and that during this period it is the responsibility of the Patron to provide accommodation, my Department has been assisting the Patron in sourcing alternative suitable, cost effective accommodation. An proposal was recently put by my Department to the Patron in this regard and it is hoped that this proposal can form the basis of an accommodation solution for the school.

With regard to permanent recognition, the school applied to my Department for permanent recognition in October 2008, which was the 2008/09 school year. When it applied for temporary recognition initially, the school supported its application with a projected enrolment of 232 pupils for the 2008/09 school year. The downward revision of projections by the school indicated that the enrolment would be 119 pupils for that school year. This is just over half of the original projection on which the Department's decision to recognise the school was taken. The actual enrolment for that school year was less again at 105 pupils. The school's enrolment in the current school year is understood to be 140 pupils. This compares with an original projected enrolment from the school of 271 pupils and a subsequent downward revised enrolment by the school to 159 pupils. The actual enrolment is, therefore, 131 pupils less than originally expected.

Drops in enrolment of this magnitude are naturally of concern to the Department. Notwithstanding this, my Department has made it clear that it considers that the potential is there for a long term viable entity and it has extended the school's temporary recognition for a further three years to allow it the opportunity to develop its enrolments further on this basis. The question of permanent recognition for the school will be considered again at that time.