School Admissions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Darren O'Rourke (SF), Meath East

The Minister of State has spoken for over four minutes and not a single word is of any benefit to community in Dunshaughlin and parents who are without school places for this September. He talked about future plans and investment. What solution is going to be put in place for these students? There could be in the region of 80 or more, hopefully slightly fewer, who do not have school places for this September. I am seeking a response to that, not what is going to happen in the future.
Investment in the community national school is very welcome but the minute it is built it will be too small. We waited long enough for it. I welcome the diggers on the ground but the minute it is built, it will be too small.
I have specific asks. I ask the Minister of State to recognise there is a shortage of school places for this September, in significant numbers. That is without a doubt and the offers have gone out and the responses are coming back in. He will have a very clear picture of that if he makes contact with the schools in Dunshaughlin. He should identify where additional capacity is going to be delivered. In the first instance, commit to additional capacity for the town. It is needed, without a doubt. I ask the Minister of State to commit to it for this September, identify where he is going to deliver it and provide assurances to parents, in the quickest possible timeframe, that capacity will be there, the children will receive an offer and they will have a place in their local school. I have far too many cases I can talk to him about but he will be very well aware that there are no crèche places. There is no early childhood care and education programme. There is no after-school provision. Parents are faced with the challenge of not having a place for their child in their local area. It turns their lives upside down and lifts their children away from their local communities. It is deeply unfair. I ask the Minister of State to please address those facts. What is the solution for these families for September?

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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