Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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388. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans for new schools; the estimated number required; the way in which the ethos will be determined; the way in which parents and communities may commence the establishment of a new school; if the same approach will be taken for special needs schools and other units; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35443/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In the past ten years, total pupil enrolment in our first and second level schools has risen by almost 100,000 pupils. The bulk of this increase has been at first level and it is now feeding through to second level. Enrolment levels are still rising annually at both levels and an estimated 55,000 additional places will be required nationally by 2022. Clearly, this level of additionality will require the provision of new schools. I cannot be precise though on the number of new schools that will be required as it will depend on the distribution of the increase within areas and the extent to which the increase can be met by existing schools or extensions to existing schools.

The process for new school establishment was revised by my predecessor in June 2011 and full details of the process are published on my Department's website. New schools are established to meet demographic demand. Once the Department has identified the need for a new school, its location and projected enrolment level, a process is conducted to allow for different patrons/bodies to be considered as the patron of the new school. The main criterion for the selection of the patron body is the extent to which a school under its patronage would extend or strengthen diversity of provision in the area, having regard to the views of parents. Since the revised process was announced in June 2011, the patronage of 44 schools has been determined under the revised procedures (19 primary schools and 25 post-primary schools). In addition, 8 primary schools have opened under the patronage divesting process.

In general, the Department's policy is to integrate children with special educational needs into the mainstream primary school system wherever possible. Many of our new schools have special education units included within them. However, special schools are also necessary to meet the educational needs of pupils whose needs cannot be adequately catered for in a mainstream primary school. The need to establish a new special school would be identified by the National Council for Special Education in conjunction with the Department. The necessity would arise where there is a specific and quantified need that could not reasonably be met through existing provision. Any process to establish a new special school would have to take account of the views of parents who are the key stakeholders with regard to their child.