Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, has called the capacity issues in Swords schools wholly unacceptable saying the Department must act to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency.
“The Department of Education and Skills carried out a demographic study in the past few years to determine where it would be necessary to allocate additional school accommodation. As part of this, the Department claimed that there were a sufficient number of school places in the Swords community to accommodate all primary school students.
“It is clear, from talking to many parents, and a number of school principals, that this is most certainly not the case. However, the Department reached the conclusion that sufficient places were available, I can only conclude that there must have been a flaw in the methodology used as it is clear that the capacity level at primary level in the Swords community has not been adequately addressed.
“Every child in our community is entitled to a place in one of their local schools. This is not a privilege – it is a right. We must have an educational system which allows all of our children to receive their education in an environment which is conducive to their learning. In order to achieve this, we must have a school place for every child of school-going age.
“As the county town of Fingal, which has the fastest population growth rate both in Ireland and Europe, Swords is on-track to become a city in its own right. It is vital that the necessary levels of investment are made in our schools to ensure we have the capacity levels to cater for demand our schools currently face, and will continue to face in the future.
“I have communicated my views on the matter to the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, TD and requested that he direct his Department to take urgent action to resolve this matter. I will continue to do my utmost, as the local Fine Gael TD in Dublin Fingal, to represent the needs of all of our schools, in the best interests of students, parents, and teachers.”