Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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165. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the location the new regional secondary school between Drogheda and Laytown school catchment areas is to be located in the context of the recent new school announcements. [17346/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, I recently announced the opening of 42 new schools over the next 4 years.  This announcement followed nationwide demographic exercises carried out by my Department into the current and future need for primary and post-primary school places across the country.

Following on from the announcement, the locations for all of the schools, including the new post-primary announced to serve Laytown and Drogheda, will be determined during the site acquisition process. As part of my Department's ongoing engagement with Local Authorities in respect of statutory planning processes and under the MoU on school site acquisitions, my Department will be examining potential suitable site options, including appropriately zoned sites, to serve the relevant areas. Decisions will then be made as part of the site acquisition process in relation to appropriate sites for all the schools announced and will be confirmed at a later date.