Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
228. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools in towns (details supplied) that have reached or exceeded capacity for the 2025/2026 school year; and the interim accommodation planned. [72642/25]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that 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 of mine.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. In addition, repurposing and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation.
As the Deputy may be aware, 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.
While my department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area, and school of choice factors. Notwithstanding the above, in some areas, demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places.
Primary school enrolments at national level have been in decline for a number of years and this downward demographic trend is also now apparent at first year post primary level. There are, however, continued pressures in some areas where there is high demand with continued population growth and housing development driving the need for additional school places.
My 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. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.
Data available to my Department highlights there are more first year places than sixth class children across the school planning areas of Athlone, Mullingar, Longford_Newtownforbes and Ballymahon. For the 2024/25 academic year 8.6% of first year places were unfilled in Mullingar, 15.3% were unfilled in Longford_Newtownforbes and 8.85% were unfilled in Ballymahon SPA.
There are currently a number of active projects at primary and post-primary level across the referred school planning areas that will increase capacity, including new school building projects for Marist College to cater for LTPE of 750 and four special education classrooms, this project is currently at Stage 1, and Gaelscoil an Longfoirt to provide 12 mainstream classrooms and two special education classrooms, this project is currently at Stage 2a. In addition, there is an extension project for St Finian's College to provide for LTPE 1,300 and six special education classrooms, this project is at Stage 4.
The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, may be viewed on the Department's website at www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
My Department will continue to keep the school place requirements in the Athlone, Mullingar, Longford_Newtownforbes and Ballymahon school planning areas, as with other areas across the country, under review.
