Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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402. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will detail the precise arrangements in place within her Department to ensure effective engagement, on an ongoing basis, between her forward planning unit and each local authority in order to ensure that her Department can meet the demands arising from new residential developments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9692/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas.

The Department uses a geographic information system, which facilitates the analysis of data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.

As part of the demographic demand analysis, my department also factors in planning and construction activity in the residential sector. This involves the analysis of data sources from local authorities and the CSO, along with engagement with local authorities. This ensures that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes at a local level, where the picture can quickly evolve due to planned new residential development.

My department also conducts granular analysis below the level of a school planning area, particularly where a school planning area encompasses both high growth urban settlement areas and a more rural hinterland. Our analysis of school place demand in urban areas experiencing high population growth has indicated that demand in the urban area can be 10-20% higher than the school planning area as a whole.

To ensure alignment of school provision with rollout of additional residential development, my department, through the consultation phases of the Statutory Plan process, liaises with all 31 Local Authorities in respect of their County Development Plans, any associated Local Area Plans and Masterplans with a view to identifying any potential long-term school place and accommodation requirements across school planning areas and with the purpose of ensuring that there is an adequate amount of appropriately zoned and suitably located sites for future school place provision, which are in line with objectives as identified in the National Planning Framework. Throughout 2024, department officials have continually interacted with the Local Authorities in respect of school place provision, whilst simultaneously engaging in 68 consultation phases of the Statutory Plan process.

The local knowledge that Local Authorities hold in respect to the development of the settlement areas within their jurisdictional areas is vital to my department in the roll out of the school building programme. The provision of schools is a key enabler to the development of new and expanding sustainable communities. Local Authorities also provide and facilitate the provision of enabling infrastructure required for the sustainable development of schools. Therefore, officials in my department have strong working relationships with Local Authorities across the Country, with structured and unstructured engagements with them on an ongoing basis.