248. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of parents and management in a school (details supplied) in relation to the lack of secondary school places available for children attending this primary school. [66357/26]

I 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.

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.

While my Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

Duplication of applications

School of choice

Single sex schools

External draw

Notwithstanding the above, in some areas demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places.

Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the circumstances of each case and may, be provided through:

• Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,

• Extending the capacity of a school or schools,

• Provision of a new school or schools.

The school building project referred to by the Deputy will provide a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school building and accommodation, including classrooms for children with special educational needs. The project, which has planning permission, will be delivered under my Department's Design and Build Programme which uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender, and construction.

Further analysis has since been conducted on the necessity for the establishment of the planned new school taking into account a number of factors including the pace of delivery of the expected additional residential development in the Cherrywood SDZ area, associated enrolments and the capacity in existing schools in the school planning area.

My department is satisfied that existing demand can be accommodated at present by the existing and growing schools in the school planning area. As a result, the establishment of the planned new post primary school has been deferred.

Earlier this year my department published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. This NDP Sectoral Plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard there will be a strong special education dimension to project rollout.

The first tranche of 105 school building projects includes 80 large scale and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects. These projects were prioritised with a strong focus on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs particularly to support special education needs provision.

I recognise that there are schools with important building projects that are not included in the first tranche of prioritised projects. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, the department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the design pipeline having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and will ultimately inform the next tranches of programme rollout to tender.

In accordance with the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available for the relevant year, the student should be admitted.

However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process will be necessary. School admissions policies, including the selection criterion to be used where the school is oversubscribed, must comply with the 2018 Act, be non-discriminatory and be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. All schools must clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied and schools can prioritise selected feeder schools should they wish to do so. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves. The department does not seek to intervene in the selection criterion that is applied by schools.

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission. An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed. An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.

It may be of some assistance to know that TUSLA’s Education Support Service (TESS) which is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. TESS can be contacted at 01-7718500. For ease of reference, I have provided you with a link to the relevant phone numbers for the Education Welfare Officers who are part of TESS assigned to various areas around the country. www.tusla.ie/get-in-touch/local-area-offices.