Yesterday, hundreds of students from five Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 gathered outside Leinster House. The 520 students from these five Gaelscoileanna have no Gaelcholáiste to move on to so the families of these students are calling for a Gaelcholáiste in their community. The programme for Government clearly states that it will "provide Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcoláiste, where there is strong demand". There is clearly an established demand for a Gaelcholáiste from more than 500 students in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. The reality is that students are not going to attend a Gaelcholáiste that takes over an hour to get to. Why will the Government not open a Gaelcholáiste in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 in line with the programme for Government?

It is really heartening to see the popularity and growth of Gaelscoileanna. I think pupils who leave sixth class in those Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 should have the option of going to a Gaelcholáiste in their wider area. In my community of Carrigaline in recent years, we developed a state-of-the-art brand-new Gaelcholáiste that is really popular. Children are coming to it from a number of feeder schools, which is great to see. I encourage the Deputy to take up the issue with the Minister, Deputy Foley, her colleagues in the Department of Education and the patron bodies as well because there is a need for a sponsor to act as patron for such a project. The planning and development and forward planning units in the Department would have an important input into the process because they are looking ahead at the future demand for new schools.