Schools Administration
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

The Government and the Department are very committed to this project. This project has received huge coverage. Synge Street CBS is known not just in Dublin, but right across the country in terms of the school's history and so forth.
I take the Senator's point fully. Across Dublin and the rest of the country, communities are coming together looking for Gaelcholáistí and Gaelscoileanna. The specific unit in the Department that looks at these matters advises schools to go year by year because it is a big undertaking for any school to go from a single-sex school to a co-educational school and from the medium of English to the medium of Irish.
My understanding is that there is huge engagement with the relevant parties. I take the point raised in relation to the local campaign group but my clear understanding from what I have been told by the Department is that there is ongoing communication between the ERST and the various partners in education to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. Synge Street becoming a Gaelcholáiste will be of huge benefit to the communities mentioned in Dublin 2, 4 and 6. We have other communities within Dublin and right across the country that the Department is engaging with also. I take the Senator's concerns but I assure him that the Department is working closely to make sure this transition is as seamless as possible in September 2026.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-04