2026-02-12

I understand that the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. I appreciate him being here. I am disappointed that the Minister is not here. This matter relates to waiting lists for post-primary school places in north Kildare. This has been a persistent and growing issue in my constituency of Kildare North, which is one of the fastest growing constituencies in the State. Housing estates have been built across Maynooth, Naas, Leixlip, Celbridge, Prosperous and Clane over the past few years. This is really to be welcomed, but it has not been matched by a corresponding level of investment in the infrastructure that is desperately needed to facilitate and support the resultant population growth. School waiting lists in the area are a key indicator of what is happening in this regard.. The housing crisis bleeds into everything. It has bled into the matter of school places. It used to be the case that where an estate was built, the schools in the area would be informed about it. My mother was a school teacher and principal, and she would have known that her school would be getting so many children from a certain estate when it was built four or five years down the line. That is not the case any more because people are very lucky to be getting their first homes and getting their families well and truly under way. This is putting immense pressure on primary and post-primary schools that are being obliged to cope using the same resources and facilities they have had for decades. Over the past few weeks, I have been in touch with post-primary schools across my constituency about their waiting lists. Some of the lists are staggering. There are 190 students on the waiting list for one school alone, namely Maynooth Community College. Coláiste Chiaráin in Leixlip and Confey College between them have well over 200 children on their waiting lists. One school in Maynooth told me the Department had asked it to take on more students this year, even though it is already oversubscribed. That is really worrying. Parents in deep distress have been in touch with me over this issue. Can you imagine being told your child is as far down as 200 on a waiting list? That could mean that six or seven extra classes would be needed in a school. It is causing anxiety for the families and the children who are worried they might not be able to attend school with their friends and those with whom they were in primary school. School facilities are another major issue. The Department will be well aware of St. Patrick's national school in Celbridge and the dire straits it is in regarding its premises. The school has been operating in temporary prefabs for the past 18 years. Unbelievably, it did not make the priority list. Other schools are also waiting for facilities and this is contributing to problems. I spoke to Celbridge Community College, which has also been waiting many years for a permanent building. I was told it would be happy to take on more students, but it is simply not feasible in light of its current set-up. This is having a serious impact on students and parents who are really anxious about what will happen in September. The same could be said of St. Mary's in Naas. Planning permission for a new building was given in 2022, but the work has yet to commence. The school was delighted to see it made the priority list. I understand, however, that this school has been added to the Department's list. The projects to which I refer long overdue and the schools involved have been impacted. One principal told me that there are many issues with the single application system pilot project. The schools involved have had a meeting with the Department of education and expressed their concerns about the scheme's operation. I hope these concerns will be listened to and acted upon for next year in order that some of the issues that have been raised with me will not be repeated. I ask that the Department provide an update on its plans for improving school capacity and facilities in Kildare North in order to accommodate the growing population.

I thank Deputy Cronin for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity to set out for the House, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, the position with regard to long waiting lists for post-primary school places across north Kildare. I 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 those with special educational needs, is an absolute priority of the Department. While the 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. Since 2020, the Department has invested over €397 million in school infrastructure across County Kildare. The Department is continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools in order to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place. In the context of post-primary enrolment pressures in north Kildare, the Department is aware of pressures for school places for the 2026-27 school year in certain areas. The data sharing arrangements that were in place for the 2025-26 admissions process have been put in place again for the 2026-27 admissions process in school planning areas that are experiencing enrolment pressures, including areas in north Kildare. The admissions data provided by schools allows the Department to analyse duplicate applications as there can be significant overlaps in areas. On foot of this engagement, Maynooth Community College has increased its first-year intake by an additional class group relative to what was indicated on its admissions notice for 2026-27. The Deputy will appreciate that the nature of the admissions processes is quite complex. As a result, there can be multiple iterations of offers. For 2025, based on data supplied by schools, it is estimated that there were over 4,200 first-year places available in County Kildare, with around 3,794 sixth-class pupils in the area. On this basis, the Department estimates a surplus capacity of approximately 400 places, or around 9%. The 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. As the Deputy will be aware, the apply to school pilot was introduced to simplify and improve the admissions process for post-primary schools in five pilot areas, including Celbridge. The roll-out of the pilot represents a significant step towards improving the school admissions system and delivering on the programme for Government commitment to introduce a nationwide common application system. While the apply to school system facilitates the submission of a common applications system for parents, the individual schools retain responsibility for issuing offers based on these applications in accordance with their published admissions policy. The Department does not offer or hold a centralised record of offer outcomes for individual schools.

While I appreciate that the Minister is not here, I hope the Minister of State will come back to me on this because it is really frustrating. As a member of the infrastructure committee, it feels as if we criticise every week how upside down the system is. We have so many infrastructural deficits up and down the country. Next week, the committee will have officials from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, in to discuss the use of the census to forecast population and the need for infrastructure. Time and again, I get responses from the Department of Education and Youth mentioning the geographic information system, GIS. I do not believe the system is working because the principals of these secondary schools tell me that they are talking to each other, going through their lists and checking for duplicates. Parents have a right to send their children to their local school and the school their children's friends are going to attend. This would not be an issue for so many TDs in north Kildare if it was not a problem. I truly wonder if the GIS could be used to predict a bit better where people are coming from. These schools have been crying out for facilities for years and they are now at breaking point. They need extra classrooms and spaces. The new school in Maynooth is being asked to take an extra 200 children. There are two schools beside each other on the same campus, with 1,000 pupils in each. They are already at capacity. My children - my girls - were meant to go to those secondary schools. They were promised when they were in primary school that the schools would be ready for them. They went through their entire secondary schooling in the old building. They never got inside those schools and the schools are already at bursting point. This applies to St. Patrick's school as well. This is really important. I have spoken to parents whose children move down the list and when they get a place, they feel relief. However, those families should not have to go through this. We need a system that works so that parents and their kids do not have to go through this anxiety every year. It is the same thing every year. The Department says it has places, but it consistently does not have them.

I will relay to the Minister for education the Deputy's comments and the representations she has made on this issue on the floor of the Dáil today. To touch further on the assessment of need and demand for school places in a school area, the Department uses data from a range of sources, including child benefit data, enrolments and information on new residential developments, to plan for school place needs. As has been outlined, there has been significant investment made in school infrastructure across County Kildare, and the Department is continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools. Furthermore, the Department’s national development plan sectoral investment plan, which runs from 2026 to 2030, involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. Of the total €7.5 billion investment, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across large-scale and additional accommodation, as well as the modular and annual September accommodation needs programmes. Over the course of 2026 and 2027, there will be construction work at approximately 10% of the school estate. These projects, when completed, will provide about 57,000 additional and modernised school places, with a strong special educational need focus in all of the projects. As I mentioned, the Department will continue to work closely with the patrons and schools to ensure that all pupils in north Kildare receive an offer of a school place. I will update the Minister on the challenges and pressures and the Deputy's contribution for her to consider and for her officials to work on further.