Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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498. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if Educate Together schools can expand their prioritisation to outside their school planning area (SPA), where no Educate Together exists in neighbouring SPAs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29047/25]

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 and uses a geographical information system, using 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.

Major new residential developments have the potential to alter the demand for school places at a local level. In that regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, the department monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector. This involves the analysis of data sources from local authorities and the CSO along with the engagement with local authorities and the construction sector. In this way, up-to-date information on significant new residential developments is obtained and factored into the demographic analysis exercise. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes, at a local level, where there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development.

The department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area.

New schools established since 2011 to meet demographic demand are required, in the first instance, to prioritise pupil applications from within the designated school planning area(s) which the school was established to serve to meet the needs of areas of significant population increase, so to ensure that every child has a school place.

This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the school planning area where they have sufficient places, rather it reflects the need to accommodate in the first instance the demographic for which the school was established.

In most areas, school planning areas were based on traditional school catchment areas where all primary schools were assigned to a post-primary feeder area (typically a population centre or town), containing one or more post-primary schools. With the introduction of small areas in census 2011, these feeder areas were amended to align with census small areas. The current school planning areas take account not only of local groupings of schools, but also of natural boundaries, census small areas and other local conditions.

Under the Education Act 1998, the question of enrolment policy in individual schools, including the setting of catchment areas, is the responsibility of the board of management on behalf of the school patron. The 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. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied. Living in a particular catchment area is one criteria that a school may apply. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves. The department does not intervene in the criteria set by a school.