Written answers

Thursday, 29 March 2018

Department of Education and Skills

School Accommodation Provision

Photo of John CurranJohn Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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51. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when he expects the completion of the nationwide demographic exercises involving all school planning areas, including Tallaght, Saggart, Citywest, Newcastle and Rathcoole, which will determine the locations in which additional school accommodation will be needed in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14277/18]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, 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 to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. This system uses data from a range of sources.  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.

For school planning purposes, the areas referred to by the Deputy, including Saggart and Citywest, are located within the Tallaght and Newcastle_Rathcoole school planning areas. A new 1,000 pupil post-primary in the Kingswood area of Tallaght was established in September 2016 to serve the needs of students in the Tallaght school planning area, which includes Citywest. A building project for this school commenced construction in August 2017. In addition, a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school is due to be established in September 2018 in Firhouse/Oldbawn, which is adjacent to the Tallaght area.

Nationwide demographic exercises involving all school planning areas, which will determine where additional school accommodation will be needed in the future, are currently ongoing and it is anticipated that decisions based on these exercises will be announced in the coming weeks.

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