Minister Foley announces patronage of three new primary schools to be established in 2021

The Minister for Education Norma Foley TD today announced the patronage of the three new primary schools to be established in 2021.

In all cases, the Minister accepted the recommendations of the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG).

Today’s announcement forms an essential part of plans to ensure that sufficient new school places are available to cater for the growing numbers of pupils at primary level over the coming years.

The new primary schools are being established in September 2021 as part of the Government’s commitment to invest heavily in education with 47 new schools to be established between 2019 and 2022 to cater for demographic growth. Following an updated review of demographics at primary level, the Minister recently announced that she had approved a number of changes to the list of primary schools to be established in 2021, including that schools will be established, as planned, in the Donaghmede_Howth_D13, Dublin 2_Dublin 4 and Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/North school planning areas.

The Minister said:

“Parental preference is a key factor in deciding the patronage of new schools. I thank parents for expressing their preferences in this patronage process. The views of parents as expressed through the process are reflected in the decisions I have made on the patronage of these three new schools. In relation to language, I am particularly pleased that two of these three new primary schools were designated as Irish-medium primary schools in advance of the patronage process being run, providing an Irish-medium option for parents in these school planning areas which has not been available to date”.

The three new primary schools to be established in 2021 will provide significant additional provision in the areas they will serve. The outcome of the patronage process is as follows:

County	School Planning Area	Patronage Awarded	Language of Instruction
Dublin	Donaghmede_Howth_D13	An Foras Pátrúnachta	Irish*
Dublin	Dublin 2_Dublin 4	An Foras Pátrúnachta	Irish*
Dublin	Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/North	Educate Together	English

These two schools were designated as Irish-medium in advance of the OPPS commencing, in accordance with the framework to provide more opportunities to increase the provision of Irish-medium education at primary level announced in September 2019.

The Minister expressed her gratitude to the members of the New Schools Establishment Group for their valuable input to the process which has ensured an objective and transparent process.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

All of the schools are being established to meet an identified demographic need.

The detailed Assessment Reports for each of the areas concerned are also published on the Department’s website.

Further information is available here

What new primary schools are being established in 2021?

• Donaghmede_Howth_D13

• Dublin 2_Dublin 4

• Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/North

Note on Deferrals

The Minister for Education recently announced that she had approved a number of changes to the list of primary schools to be established in 2021, including the deferral of a number of these schools.

The deferrals arise from a range of factors, primarily that planned additional residential development in the form of Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) developments has not yet materialised at the levels expected back in 2018, and/or that there is capacity in existing schools in/adjacent to the area which is considered sufficient to cater for demographic demand in 2021, and therefore it is not necessary for the schools to commence in 2021.

Planning and preparation will continue in relation to sites and buildings for these schools in alignment with the delivery of housing in the areas concerned.

Have sites been secured for the three new schools being established in September 2021?

For each of these schools, the site identification process is ongoing.

What accommodation will the new schools be established in?

In relation to the new schools announced, the current focus for the Department is to prioritise the schools due to be established in 2021 so that accommodation solutions are put in place as soon as possible. The Department and its project manager are currently reviewing potential interim accommodation options for the schools. It is expected that the schools will be established in September 2021 in suitable interim accommodation pending delivery of permanent school buildings.

New Schools Establishment Group

The patronage process for new schools is overseen by the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG). This independent advisory group was set up in 2011 to advise the Minister on the patronage of new schools following its consideration of a report prepared by the Department on the applications received. Minister Foley accepted the recommendations of the Group in all cases in respect of the three primary schools due to open in September 2021.

The members of the NSEG are:

• Mr. Joe Hamill (Chairperson), Retired Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs;

• Professor Gerry Mac Ruairc, Head, School of Education, National University of Ireland Galway; and

• Professor Sarah Moore, Professor of Teaching and Learning, University of Limerick.

Related documents are available at the following link here