School Admissions Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19 ============================================================ Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will set out the position on behalf of Minister, Deputy Naughton, regarding the shortage of mainstream school places in Dunshaughlin, County Meath. 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 a priority for me, the Minister and the Department. Preschool and primary school enrolments at a national level have been in decline for some years, which, in turn, is leading to a reduction in demand for primary school places in rural areas and many urban areas across the country. The downward demographic trend is now apparent for the first time at post-primary level. While the Department is aware of the enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in areas like Dunshaughlin, it is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by a number of issues, including applications from outside the area and schools of choice. Notwithstanding the above, in some areas, demographic pressures and other factors are driving the requirement for additional school places. 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 addition 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. The educational welfare services of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of educational welfare officers. The provision of additional school places can be required in a very small number of areas. This can be facilitated by a range of strategies, some of which may involve additional accommodation but also by optimising the existing spaces. Between 2020 and 2025, the Department has provided over €459 million in capital funding for Meath schools. Over this period, a total of 62 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are currently 14 school projects in County Meath under construction. Another six school projects will go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027, and this summer, ten schools are approved to undergo works as part of the summer works scheme and the climate action scheme. In addition, since 2020, a total of 119 special classes have been opened in the county, 12 of which were sanctioned for September 2026. With regards to the Deputy's concerns in relation to Dunshaughlin, a number of active projects at primary and post-primary level are in progress that will increase capacity. These include a new school building in Dunshaughlin, which will provide post-primary accommodation for 1,000 students and six special education classrooms. This project is at stage 4. In addition, there is a new school building project in progress for Dunshaughlin Community National School, which will provide eight mainstream classrooms and two special education classrooms. This project is also at stage 4. Furthermore, a total capital ceiling of €7.55 billion for 2026 to 2030 was allocated to the Department under the national development plan. This is a very significant investment in our education and youth sectors and will help deliver on our commitment to have a world-class education system that supports every learner to reach their full potential. Our sectoral investment plan published last month sets out the Department's approach to prioritised investment in school infrastructure to ensure that every child has a school place and to support the overall operation of the school system and youth sector in terms of capital infrastructure. There is a strong focus in our plan on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs, particularly in regard to special education and also areas experiencing huge growth in their student population. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-19