Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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689. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of primary and post-primary schools in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6639/16]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In identifying the requirement for additional school places, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and information from my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and at post-primary level. For school planning purposes, the area to which the Deputy refers falls within the Firhouse/Oldbawn school planning area.

In relation to provision at primary level, as the Deputy may be aware, two new primary schools opened in this school planning area in September 2013, namely Gaelscoil na Giúise and Firhouse Educate Together National School. These schools were opened to serve the needs of the pupils in the school planning area, which includes the area to which the Deputy refers. When fully developed, these two schools will provide 32 classes between them, supplementing provision from the existing schools in the area.

At post-primary level, the outcome of the latest demographic exercises was that, in November 2015, I announced that 13 new schools (4 primary and 9 post-primary) will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. One of these new post-primary schools will open in 2018 to serve the Firhouse/Oldbawn school planning area.