Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for my Department.

As the Deputy is aware, for school planning purposes my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose.

Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements.

It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not always be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

• Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area
• School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area
• Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils
• External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area

Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity within that particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand. Additional provision is made as necessary, where the existing capacity is insufficient for future needs.

The 2023 demographic exercise indicates that 79% of the 314 school planning areas at primary level show static or decreasing enrolments for the period to 2027 compared with 2022. At post-primary level some 78% of school planning areas are anticipated to have increased enrolments for the period to 2030, with most expected to reach a peak within the next two or three years.

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, be provided through:

• Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
• Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
• Provision of a new school or schools.

My Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Under the National Development Plan, a total of almost €250m has been invested in schools in County Kildare over the last five years. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for its increasing population and there are further significant projects in our pipeline including for the South Kildare area.

Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. This may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice, however, the Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all students in the area seeking school places.

My Department has worked closely with schools and patrons across Kildare to ensure that there is sufficient provision across School Planning Areas to meet school place requirements. While some applicants may not yet have received an offer of a school place, significant progress has been made in making required capacity available and families can be assured that there will be sufficient school places available to meet the needs of children in the area.

Regional Education and Language Teams, or REALTs, were established as part of the Department of Education’s response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the war in Ukraine. REALTs assist Ukrainian families in securing school places.

The remit of the REALTs was extended in November 2022 to include supporting non-Ukrainian IPAS arrivals and children under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) to find school places. The current Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) team continue to operate as normal with new arrivals and work closely with the 16 REALT co-ordinators in the regions and request supports from the REALT when needed to assist with the enrolment in schools. The statutory role of Tusla to ensure that all children aged 6 to 16 are in receipt of an education is not affected.

The requirement for additional school places in the South Kildare area is kept under on-going review. Additionally, the Department will continue to liaise with the local Council in respect of its review of the Development Plan with a view to identifying any potential long-term school accommodation requirements.