Written answers

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Department of Education and Skills

Schools Building Projects Status

Photo of Thomas ByrneThomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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89. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to deal with actual and potential school place shortages in Ashbourne and Dunshaughlin, County Meath. [44942/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Education and Skills is building more schools and providing more school places than ever before. We have doubled the number of school places being provided from 8,900 in 2010 to 18,000 school places in 2017.

In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. My Department uses a Geographical Information system (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. 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.

Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, depending on the circumstances, be provided through either one, or a combination of the following:

- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools.

- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,

- Provision of a new school or schools.

As with other school planning areas nationwide, the demographic data for the areas referred to by the Deputy is being kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated child benefit data and updated enrolment data. It is anticipated that decisions on these exercises will be announced later in 2017.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department provided 2 new permanent 16 classroom primary schools in Ashbourne in 2016. At post-primary level, phase 1 of a post-primary school development for 1,000 pupils has recently been completed and phase 2 is currently in advanced architectural planning. In addition, a building project to provide further accommodation at an existing community school in Ashbourne is included in my Department's 6-year construction plan (2019-2021).

With regard to Dunshaughlin, an extension was completed in 2013 at Dunshaughlin Community College to provide additional student capacity.

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