School places in the Municipal District

Clane-Maynooth Municipal District Meeting, Friday, 7 July 2023

Councillor Pádraig McEvoy

Motion

That the council prioritises analysis and reports from imminent publications of Census 2022 data by the Central Statistics Office to inform urgent solutions to shortfalls of school places in the Municipal District, particularly in areas where population expansion has yet to align with investment in education capacities.

Agenda Report

AIRO is contracted by the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) to analyse Census 2022 as soon as it becomes available in the coming months. This will highlight population growth and an assessment of the population in 2022. However, Census 2022 does not provide information in relation to proposed planning developments which also impact on demands for schools.

Issued by: Ms. P O’Brien, Senior Executive Officer, Community Department.

Meeting Minutes

CM36/0723 [link]

"Councillor McEvoy said that parent and public debate had taken place with Clane, Prosperous and Naas. The policy makers needed to have a clear understanding about the lack of school places and the ever growing population. There was a large rate of growth in most areas. He was speaking with a developer recently and that his response to the situation of the lack of school places was “do they need an education?”. There needed to be cohesive planning on issues such as employment, infrastructure and services. There was also a knock on issue from transport in relation to emissions and that he welcomed the

data which was due in the Autumn.

Councillor Weld said that the Department of Education had big challenges and that there could be a 10 year wait for a new school. There was huge pressure in North Kildare with waiting lists for school places. He had spoken to a Principal who had promised to take 30 children into an extra class, accommodating them in prefabs and that ten days ago he received an email from the Department informing him there would be no prefabs provided until December. The Department had the statistics and facts but that they were very slow to act. On St. Brigid’s weekend there was a promise made by the Department but nothing had been heard since.

Councillor Wyse agreed and said that the Department were not doing proper planning and foresight and that for example in Allenwood that there was an increase from 981 places to 1,686 while the Department’s prediction was only an increase to 1,500 places.

Councillor Hamilton asked what was the path that the council could take, that there was chaos in the four different Municipal Districts. Students from the towns were being turned away some living just across the road from the school.

Councillor Fitzpatrick mentioned that he was chair of the Kildare West Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) and that the bulk of their Agenda was in relation to school places. There was a constant delay in granting temporary accommodation to facilitate pupils. There was now even a shop in Maynooth Town Centre being used as a school site.

Councillor Feeney said that there was a need to call out the inclusion of Clongowes as an option for pupils for a school place on School Application Forms, this was not acceptable. She had received emails from frustrated parents begging for supports for children with special needs and the need for more Special Needs Assistants, the Department of Education needed to be called out on this.

The District Manager informed the members that she would bring these comments to the Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). She mentioned that there would also be the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP). There had been a huge population growth of young people in the county, and that North Kildare was a particularly huge challenge. Kildare had possibly the largest young population of all the counties. There

was due to be a consultation with the LECP in the next six weeks.

Resolved on the proposal of Councillor McEvoy and seconded by Councillor Wyse and agreed by the members that the report be noted and for this item to remain on Progress Report."