Deputy Joan Burton and Councillor Peggy Hamill recently attended the well-supported pre-enrollment day for the Carpenterstown educate together school. A recent study sponsored by the Department of Children, and carried out by a local school principal, showed that 2008 is likely to another bumper year for enrolments in Dublin West.
Cllr. Hamill commented that “the fact that 197 pupils were enrolled for the new educate-together school in Carpenterstown shows the full extent of the Dublin 15 school place crisis. Although we still need to see a break-down of how many of these children need places for this coming September, the urgent nature of this problem is quite apparent. I will be pressing the Fingal County Manager and the Department of Education to pull out all the stops to identify and acquire a suitable sight for the school as soon as possible.”
Hamill continued “2008 is the 8th year in a row that there are huge numbers of parents deeply concerned about getting a school place for their child. A place in school is a basic necessity for all children and the right of all children in Dublin 15 to an education is being seriously compromised at present.”
Deputy Burton congratulated those involved in the parents’ school start-up group saying “the parents from the local area must be commended for their hard work in driving forward this initiative in the absence of government action, despite numerous promises. We already have a successful educate together school in Beechpark, Castleknock, and I would hope that Carpenterstown will be equally successful. Educate together has now an established track record and represents a viable alternative for the provision of education in Dublin 15.”
Burton questioned “when will the penny drop with the Minister for Education that Dublin West urgently needs more school places at both primary and secondary level to cope with the huge and increasing population of school-going children in the area? It would seem obvious that if you are going to build tens of thousands of family houses, many of which are bought by young couples, that a few years down the line there will be a surge in demand for school places. This isn’t rocket science – it’s basic ‘cop on’, but the Minister seems to have had her head buried in the sand for the last few years.”