Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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213. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans to update the Department's school planning areas, particularly where significant amounts of development have changed since the school planning areas were last updated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67313/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my 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.

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.

The school planning areas are used in the demographic exercise as a basis for the assessment of areas of growth and to inform recommendations on the establishment of any new schools required in that school planning area. There are no current plans to revise school planning areas.

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, my 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.

My department 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.

New schools established to meet demographic demand are required to prioritise enrolments from within the school planning area which the school was established to serve. This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the designated school planning area, rather it reflects the need to accommodate in the first instance the demographic for which the school was established.

In relation to enrolment generally, it is my department’s responsibility to ensure that schools can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area. Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted.

The pace of delivery of additional residential developments , along with updated enrolment data and demographic data will be kept under review and this will inform the timing of further school requirements across school planning areas.