Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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80. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he agrees with the South Kildare Educate Together campaign in south County Kildare that a new secondary school is needed in that district; and if he will meet the committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21782/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government's objective of strengthening parental choice and further expanding diversity in our school system. The desire of parents for diversity in education is primarily being pursued by increasing the number of non-denominational and multi-denominational schools with a view to reaching 400 by 2030. The Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to facilitate this process and I am progressing these matters as a priority.

In relation to the demographic analyses, my Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post-primary level to determine where additional school accommodation is needed.

The 2015 demographic analysis indicated that, while the school planning areas in South Kildare are experiencing some demographic growth, the level of growth and the rate of year-on-year increase are not to such an extent that would currently warrant the provision of an additional new post-primary school at this point. However, these areas are continuing to be kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated child benefit data and updated enrolment data and the impact of existing and planned capacity increases in this area.