Greystones secondary school places
Deputy Whitmore raised the lack of secondary school places for about 20 students in Greystones and warned time was running out. The Taoiseach said he had spoken to the school and Education Minister and would push for urgent clarity.
From one Wicklow TD to another, I wish the Taoiseach the absolute best in his new role.
I feel like a broken record when I address this issue. The Taoiseach is familiar with it. It is the 20 or so students in Greystones who do not have a secondary school place yet for September. We have been repeatedly told that a solution will be found for them. We are only five or six weeks away from secondary schools closing and the primary schools will close a few weeks later. These students do not know where they will be going in late August. Entrance exams are happening at the moment. Applications for the school transport scheme close in less than two weeks' time. Will the Taoiseach give a timeframe indicating when those parents and students will be told they will have a place for school?
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this issue that she raises regularly, as she rightly should. It is a stressful issue for people in Greystones, for parents and specifically for the young people who are wondering what the name of their school will be. I spoke with a school principal in Greystones about this yesterday and to the Minister for Education directly today. We need an urgent update. The Minister shares that view and I will be using my offices to help to bring about clarity and certainty for students in our constituency and, as Taoiseach, for any student in the country who is not yet sure of a secondary school place. I am happy to talk to Deputy Whitmore directly about it.