Written answers

Thursday, 2 June 2016

Department of Education and Skills

Gaelscoil Issues

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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167. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how he will accommodate the demonstrated significant demand for a Gaelscoil in an area following a recent decision by his Department (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14056/16]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Since 2011 new schools are only established in areas of demographic growth. 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 post-primary level.

When it is decided that a new school is required to meet demographic needs in an area, the Department runs a separate patronage process to decide who will operate the school. It is open to all patrons and prospective patrons to apply for patronage of the school under this process and parental preferences for each patron is key to decisions in relation to the outcome of the process.

With regard to the decision on the patronage of the new school which will open this September, to which the Deputy refers, my Department assessed the applications received from the prospective patrons, including examining the parental preferences received in the applications, to ensure they represented children living within the school planning area which will be served by this school, and prepared a report for the consideration of the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG) who then submitted their report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision. The valid parental preferences for Educate Together as patron was twice as high as those for a Gaelscoil. I accepted the recommendation of the NSEG and the patronage of the new school remains as announced. The NSEG did note the strong level of demand for Irish medium education in the area referred to by the Deputy and recommended that this should be kept under review in the context of future demographic exercises.

My Department is focused on ensuring that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area. My officials are keeping the changing demographics in the Drumcondra/Marino/Dublin 1 area under review to take into account updated child benefit data and to take into account the impact of ongoing and planned capacity increases in this and adjacent school planning areas.

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