Jen Cummins
Dublin South-Central · Social Democrats · Ireland
“However, there is an advantage if their family can buy them one and they can continue their school work at home. It is not good enough to say that schools can make up their minds about that. The Department needs to actually decide and give guidance like it does for other things.”
“Circular 0032/2017 has been in existence for almost ten years and in most parts is not enforced. There is no point in issuing a circular if nothing is going to be done about it. I am delighted the Minister has said there will be a working group to review and hopefully strengthen that.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. It is very timely. These are the summer months when parents start to think about how we will we stretch our finances to autumn, get everything that we need to ready and then still maybe take a holiday, organise summer camps, etc. The motion is, as stated, very timely.”
“I see it as an absolute disgrace that such a number of people need that support. I welcome that that funding and support is there for those families but I am still shocked that this affects 233,000 children, which is a lot of children, aged between two and 18. I think it goes up to 22 in some cases. There is a digital divide.”
“When parents were told, they had six weeks to pay but most people do not have such a flexible budget to allow them to pay the €160 or however much it is. When things are being reintroduced time needs to be factored in for that. There was an increase in the cost of school transport for families.”
“I will go through a few of the things that I think still present challenges. The capitation grant for schools was increased last year but has still not reached a level which will mean that schools are fully funded. It has not reached the level where it needs to be. In addition, it does not take into consideration the level of inflation.”
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“In 2011, the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was launched to begin to respond to the need for appropriate forms of primary school patronage for Ireland’s increasingly diverse society. There were four findings, of which three are relevant today. These are: divesting patronage in areas with stable populations; enhancing inclusivity in all schools; and that there should be curriculum and policy reforms. Yet here we are in 2025, more than a decade later, and these recommendations do not appear to be moving at any speed. There are only about 170 multidenominational schools today. This is a very far distance from where the Government is trying to get. Over 94.5% of our primary schools remain under religious patronage while only 5.5% are multidenominational.”
“In 1978, a group of parents in Dalkey, County Dublin, managed to get a multidenominational school opened - the Dalkey School Project. That school celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. This movement grew into what we now know as Educate Together. At the same time, parents were battling to have their children educated through the Irish language. They established naonraí for young children and gaelscoileanna for primary school children. This movement grew into An Foras Pátrúnachta, which is the patron body for Irish-medium schools that may be multidenominational, interdenominational or denominational. In 2006, another type of multidenominational school emerged, namely, the community national schools. The first of these schools opened in 2008. These schools are managed by the education and training boards.”
“Article 42.1 states that the State "acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children". Article 42.4 states that "the State shall provide for free primary education and shall endeavour to supplement and give reasonable aid to private and corporate educational initiative ... with due regard, however, for the rights of parents, especially in the matter of religious and moral formation". The involvement of parents in education was strengthened in 1975 when parents were included on the boards of management of schools for the first time. At that time, two sets of parents were starting campaigns.”
“The Stanley letter of 1831 is not just an historic document; it still underpins our national school system almost 200 years later. Schools would be established to unite in one system children of different creeds because at that time, denominational and political tensions were high. Children would receive four or five days of literary and moral instruction. On the remaining one or two days per week, there would be separate religious instruction given by clergy of respective persuasions, which could take place either before or after ordinary school hours. Unfortunately, the churches opposed a mixed denominational system and by approximately mid-century, the national school system had become a denominational system. The Constitution was enacted in 1937.”
“This motion speaks to the heart of our republic's promise of the right of every child to have an inclusive, respectful and equitable education. As a mother of four, an educator and someone who has dedicated her life to education equity, I bring forward this motion not just as a legislator but as someone who has witnessed at first hand the transformative power of inclusive education. I am speaking on behalf of many parents who are desperately seeking a multidenominational school for their child. This is not the first time that Ireland has tried to have a multidenominational education system. Over 200 years ago, the Fourteenth Report from the Commissioners of the Board of Education in 1812 wanted to develop a national school system for children that would be free from even the suspicion of proselytising.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — more than 90 per cent of Irish primary schools are under religious patronage, while only 5 per cent are multi-denominational; — a survey by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation found that just 4 per cent of teachers think preparing students for sacraments should be the responsibility of primary schools, while more than two fifths believe that faith formation should not take place at all during school hours; — the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future of the 33rd Dáil, contained a target of at least 400 multi-denominational primary schools by 2030, "to improve parental choice"; — in reality, there are approximately just 170 such schools, with only 20 changing from a religious to a multi-denominational ethos over the past decade; and — "Securing Ireland's Future", the current Programme for Government, contains no target at all on multi-denominational schools; further notes that: — the previous Government had committed to holding a Citizens' Assembly on the future of education; and — the current Government has downgraded this commitment and has pledged to hold a "national convention"; regrets that: — despite successive Governments stated commitments to educational pluralism, the vast majority of schools remain under religious patronage, even as demand for multi-denominational options grows; — the Government's Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity process lacks transparency, ambition, and community empowerment; — patronage divestment is stalling due to poor community engagement, lack of clarity in the process, and no obligation on patrons to cooperate; and — schools wishing to reconfigure face financial disincentives and logistical hurdles, creating systemic inertia; recognises that: — these ongoing delays directly undermine parental choice and the constitutional right to freedom of religion; and — without decisive action, the goal of a pluralistic, inclusive education system will remain aspirational; and calls on the Government to: — reinstate the abandoned commitment to have 400 multi-denominational schools by 2030; — adopt a policy that all new schools are opened under non-religious patronage; — remove "faith formation" from the school day, with it to take place outside of school hours in line with the families beliefs; — create a clear and independent mechanism for patronage change, via the establishment of a statutory framework for changing school patronage, with independent oversight to avoid conflicts of interest by existing patrons; — repeal section 37.1 of the Employment Equality Act 1998, so teachers cannot face religious discrimination; and — establish a Citizens' Assembly to make recommendations on the future of the education system, including how it might better reflect and serve a more modern, inclusive and diverse Ireland.”
“It would put us on an equal footing for children in their very early years of care and education. Coming from an education background, I have seen first-hand those children who do not attend early childhood education and the effect that has when they come into primary and secondary schools. It is time we put early childhood educators and the education they provide on a par with primary and secondary school. It was only decades ago that secondary school became available to everybody. The next level to which we need to move to become a progressive society is having early childhood education as a public service that is available to all and that gives everybody an equal start. I commend the alliance that was outside the Dáil this week. Their work is monumental to what we need to do now.”
“I am delighted to support Sinn Féin’s motion this evening. My constituency is Dublin South Central. Like many here, I have received many emails from parents which outline the prohibitive cost of childcare. I have had emails from people in Ballyfermot, Drimnagh and around Dublin 8 from people who are paying more than €1,000 a month per child. For anyone with more than one child - at one stage I had three children under the age of three - it would cost many thousands. People cannot afford this. It is unsustainable. This is something that everyone has been calling for and we need to move on this. It is very disheartening to hear that it was promised by the Government before the election and it is not coming to fruition. I echo what my colleague, Deputy Farrelly, said about páistecare. It is a model which is costed.”
“We also need to make sure that every single member of staff working in those schools is fully trained before they go in. Another matter I am concerned about and about which I asked the Minister previously relates to when she will have more places at third level for students going into occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and all those courses. It is very important that happens this year. Students are sitting the leaving certificate who would love to do those courses. There are students who are siblings or family members of those with special needs who would love to go into those careers. I would love to have an answer to this as it has not made clear: are those places in place for this September-October when college starts? If not, is there anything that could be done to hurry that up?”
“I know the Minister and Minister of State do that as individuals, but I urge them to please try to stop the Department with its "computer says no" version of what is going on. Children are being sent to schools miles away that are not in their community and which they have to travel to. Some of these children being sent far away are only little. Parents fought hard for the Libermann Spiritan School in Templeogue. It is fantastic that it opened but it does not have enough resources. It does not have everything that needs to happen in a special school. It is brilliant and fantastic that we are going to open special schools and special classrooms, but resources that need to come with that for everything that needs to be decked out in those schools and not as an afterthought. It needs to be planned out in advance.”
“I thank the Labour Party for its motion on special education. I have heard so much pain, frustration and determination from families throughout my constituency and many constituencies in this country. I have travelled to different places to hear from families. In my constituency of Dublin South-Central, from Ballyfermot to Drimnagh, Inchicore and Crumlin, there are parents who at crisis point with their children. They are worn out trying to get a place for their child in a special education class or school. Not only do they have to fight for everything for their children, but they also have to fight for the basic right to an education as well. It is heart-breaking and is not good enough. I ask the Government to look at the human side of this.”
“I urge the Taoiseach to be very clear so that parents understand what exactly the Government's position is now on school patronage.”
“My question is similar to that of the previous speaker with regard to parental choice. I was very disappointed to see Government backbenchers expressing what is maybe a U-turn in what the programme for Government was talking about in 2020 on school patronage. It does not seem to appear in the current programme for Government, which I am a little bit concerned about. With 94% of primary schools being under religious ethos, that means only 6% are not. In areas like my own, 79% of parents are not identifying as Catholic. I did serve on the board of Educate Together with Mary O'Rourke, and I was very happy to do so, and I know the Taoiseach has been a supporter. There needs, however, to be clarity from the Government as to exactly what its stance is.”
“As the space in the course dictates the amount of points, they are all tied in together. As I did not hear it in the Minister of State's response, I will return to the issue of HEAR and DARE. These are vital and those students must fight even harder to get to the points in the way that they can. We really need to be equitable to those students.”
“I thank the Minister of State for acknowledging the huge pressure students are under. Having worked in education for many years and having my own children go through the leaving certificate, it is a time of huge pressure not only for the student but also for everyone around him or her. It is quite a difficult situation. At what point will we be rid of this system? When will what was put in place during the pandemic period be over? I am a little concerned because in the previous proceedings, we talked about the need for broadening the base to recruit for special education schools, which are going to need more occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and physiotherapists. These are at the higher end of the points scale. When are we going to broaden it out for there to be enough spaces on these courses?”
“Sometimes, those students who can learn in a particular way will do excellently and for others it does not really work for how their learning styles and knowledge base can be examined. We are getting numerous emails from parents regarding this issue and we are looking, like Deputy Murphy, for fair assessments, expanded college places and at ways of assessing our students in a more equitable way.”
“If grades are being inflated and these students are not reaching the level they could reach - not because of their ability, but due to the inflation - are they at a bit of a disadvantage? I am concerned as to how all of this has affected those students over the past number of years. When we are raising the bar so high, it is difficult for everybody to get there. For students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and those with educational needs, for example, dyslexia and dyscalculia, those programmes are vital to them reaching their points. Unfortunately, our education system only really allows for people to learn in a particular way when it comes to the leaving cert.”
“Like Deputy Murphy and I am sure many others, we have seen numerous emails coming in from parents worried about how this is going to affect their children. In 2021, 1,300 students received a maximum of 625 CAO points, which I am sure everybody knows is an extremely difficult thing to do. That was more than double the number in 2020 and nearly six times the figures from 2019. Now we are in a situation where we have students who are achieving the top points. With the maximum points reached and only a certain number of course places, there is nowhere for them to go, so it ends up in a lottery. I am concerned about those students who are on the HEAR and DARE programmes.”
“We will be a fully functioning society when we have that available to all the students in our schools, at primary and secondary levels and in special education schools, like in other countries that have high functioning education systems and social, emotional and psychological supports for students.”
“I thank the Minister. Going further than that, it is great to see there will be a roll-out of these services and supports to young people and children in special schools. From looking at it, what we would like to see from an education perspective is that young people who need a service in mainstream schools will be able to access it. There are children throughout the country who need that support. School is a fantastic place to have that support and I would like speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and other psychological services to be available in all our schools.”
“Over recent weeks, the Minister has been meeting many parents, like every TD in the Dáil, about the lack of special education school places. She is trying to rectify that, but with that come all the other supports that need to happen.”
“It is great that it will be rolled out. I am anxious to know exactly how far along the implementation of those places is, particularly at third level, for the autumn intake under the Central Admissions Office, CAO. I note from the programme for Government that a plan was set out to double the number of college places for speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists. How far along is that? With regard to expediting qualification routes for professionals who have relevant experience and skills, how will that work? Many people are working in the education system and broadly around it and I am wondering how that will work. I am interested to see how far along those plans are.”
“I congratulate the Minister on her post. I have not yet had an opportunity to say that to her across the floor. What are her Department's plans to ensure all students, especially children with additional needs, have access to in-school supports such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and psychological services? What is the plan to roll them out, for recruitment and resourcing schools throughout the country?”
“In the last few seconds I have, I will note that I am from Dublin South-Central and there are no playing pitches in Dublin 8. We have been fighting for this for a really long time. Young people have to hang out on the road because there is nowhere else. When young people hang out on the road, it is not antisocial behaviour. It is their equivalent of a café.”
“Children in care age out and end up in homelessness. As Deputy Gannon said, poverty and adverse childhood experiences can significantly divert the pathway a young person takes. Regardless of which party we come from, if any, it is incumbent on Members of the Thirty-fourth Dáil to get our act together and do everything we can to ensure that everything is in place. A good starting point would be restoring funding for youth services, Garda youth diversion projects, school completion programmes and other services like them. Funding is being restored but only to pre-austerity levels while the cost of everything has gone up. Everybody is saying that. If we could get on track with that, those youth services and programmes could take in more young people.”
“Like my colleague, I was a youth worker for many years and worked on the school completion programme. Anyone who has worked with young people knows just how amazing they are, how hopeful they are and how clear they are in their vision for the future. They love their friends and their families. When things are going well for young people, it is a positive experience to be around them. However, Ireland has a real difficulty with young people. Yesterday, I went to an event with the Ombudsman for Children, who was talking about the deaths of children and the fact that there needed to be a review. There are 200 parents protesting outside Leinster House because of a lack of appropriate school places and the supports that go with them. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan talked about mother and baby homes. The list goes on.”
“We work with the most vulnerable children in the country aside from children with special educational needs. This is very important for vulnerable workers, especially those working in Tusla. Educational welfare officers and home school liaisons have steady employment, but school completion co-ordinators do not. We need to know when an answer will be provided in respect of this matter. I appreciate the Taoiseach's championing of the school completion programme for the past number of decades.”
“During the Taoiseach's maiden speech in June 2020 following the election, he mentioned the school completion programme. I do not know whether he knows that school completion co-ordinators and project workers throughout the country were delighted that it was mentioned in his maiden speech. As he probably knows, I worked for a school completion programme, Ballymun Anseo, as Deputy Paul McAuliffe knows because I had his head melted about the school completion programme. I am now here, so I will melt his head again. When will the Department of Education finalise the governance and employment structure for the school completion programme? It is very difficult to work as a co-ordinator or project worker when you are uncertain what the future will be.”
“We want to do the best we can for students. It would be fantastic if the framework could be a little bit more mandatory. I do not want the Minister to frighten people away but we do need to protect students more.”
“The flipside is that parents sending children into digs accommodation cannot be sure they will be fully protected. That is also a challenge. I agree with the Minister that there definitely needs to be balance from the perspective of both the landlord or digs provider and of the student. These students are often in their first year and do not have a big network so we need to have that protection in place. The students union at the University of Galway did a survey of members and found that 28% of students said their accommodation had a negative impact on their education. To go back to what previous speakers have said, a negative impact on education can make it more likely that people will drop out. We do not want that because education is absolutely vital to progression in this community and society.”
“-----because there is no on-campus accommodation, which would be ideal for a great many people. It is also very expensive. I live in Dublin 8 and quite a lot of student accommodation was built in the area over recent years. However, it is totally unaffordable for the average student with rents of €1,250 per month. If it is a five-week month, it is €1,350. That accommodation is totally unaffordable for most students. Digs accommodation is affordable but the difficulty is that, as we have heard over the last while, students can be thrown out at a moment's notice and there is no protection. I am a little bit concerned that the protection the Minister has mentioned is voluntary. It should not be voluntary but mandatory.”
“I wish the Minister the very best of luck in his new role. I look forward to working with him. How does the Government plan to protect third level students who are in digs accommodation? Over recent weeks and months, we have had people into the audiovisual room explaining the very difficult situation they are in with regard to their accommodation. Digs accommodation may not be the first preference for many students and it may not be ideal for either the student or the landlord but, in a housing crisis, it is often the best option they have.”
“Let us have the conversation and see what happens. That is the democratic thing to do. On a point mentioned twice by the Government side today, this motion is not about what has been suggested, namely, the EU and our membership. The Government should not misconstrue what people are saying-----”
“Everybody speaking today thanked those people who are doing that on Ireland’s behalf throughout the world. Let us be respectful. We are respected internationally as an independent voice for peace and changing that is something that cannot be done behind closed doors. The Government argues the triple lock is outdated and inefficient, but it has never once prevented Ireland from carrying out its peacekeeping duties. Removing it would strip away that safeguard and undermine the public’s trust in how we make these decisions. It is not just about military policy; this is about democracy, trust and whether this Government believes the people have a right to a say in the future of our neutrality. They want to have that say. If the Government truly believes this change is necessary and that the people support it, it should put it to them.”
“However, the Government is ignoring them by prioritising a Bill to which the people have said no and delaying a clear priority they set out for the Government. They are just being ignored. If the Government truly believes removing the triple lock is in Ireland’s best interest then it should put that to the people. Let the people debate it. Let us have a debate. As the previous speaker said, let us have a citizens’ assembly. Let us test it out to see how strong that will is. We have a very proud tradition of debating and voting on major constitutional and foreign policy decisions so let us test it and put it to the people. Our neutrality is not just about policy; it is a defining feature of Ireland’s role in the world. It is the reason we have the longest unbroken record of UN peacekeeping service.”
“This motion is about giving voice to the people of Ireland. It is a matter that goes beyond policy; it is about democracy. The Government's attempt to remove the triple lock without public consultation is not just a policy change but a fundamental shift in Ireland's stance on the global stage and yet the people have not been asked. During the most recent election, neutrality and the triple lock did not really feature at all as issues affecting people’s lives. Issues like housing, health and education were a key focus for most people. When it came to foreign policy neutrality was not at the forefront. What people made very clear on the doors I knocked on in my area, and what was made clear to my colleagues doing the same, was they want the Government to pass the occupied territories Bill.”
“If we could future-proof and young people-proof every decision we made, we would be very copped on. It is great to work with young people. They keep you real and they always talk straight, and I appreciate that. I thank the Minister of State.”
“That means young people are hanging around and not able to do anything. They want to do things. Just because young people are hanging out, it does not mean they are involved in antisocial behaviour. However, youth workers want to engage them. We have that possibility to do that. There is fantastic work going on in all the youth services in Dublin 8 and I commend them on their work. More young people are coming into youth work. I welcome the survey the Minister of State mentioned, which will go out next week. That will shed a clear light on how many youth workers there are, the level of qualifications they have, where the needs are and on being able to fill that gap. I would like to see a committee for young people in this Dáil term. Every decision made here is going to affect the people who are young now in the future.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. The increase in funding for youth work is very welcome. The role I had immediately after youth work was working in the school completion programme. While there have been increases in funding for both of those sectors, during the austerity era youth work and the school completion programme were cut so dramatically and so drastically that they have not recovered to pre-austerity levels. While there have been increases in funding, they are not back to the original levels nor are they keeping in line with inflation. That is putting huge pressure on youth services to appropriately fund the services they provide. Looking at my area, Dublin 8, the centre burned down and the projects could no longer be housed there. There is a lack of space in Dublin 8 for youth services to be housed.”
“I will come to that in my second contribution. I suppose pathways to youthwork education are clear. Young people who are involved in youth work often want to become youth workers because it is so life-changing. How can we help them with that, especially where young people are from disadvantaged areas? Progression to third level is difficult for them. An apprenticeship model would help with that. I am looking at that element. I suggest meeting with the youth workers' education forum and the Education Authority of Northern Ireland to discuss and learn about the apprenticeship model. I have another suggestion which I will make in my second contribution.”
“In 1985, the then Labour Party and Fine Gael Government published In Partnership with Youth: the National Youth Policy. Here we are in 2025, many years later. NYCI is a membership-led organisation and is talking to TDs in this Thirty-fourth Dáil, asking them for a number of things. One of the issues set out in that document in 1985 was multi-annual funding for youth work. Youth workers need to get mortgages or pay rent. If you only have annual funding from year to year, it is difficult to run that. That means youth workers are leaving the profession. They are going to agencies, such as Tusla which can afford to pay more, or to other areas. I am looking to have a discussion about this and for the Government to liaise with some of the agencies in Northern Ireland where there is an apprenticeship model for getting into youth work.”
“There are high rates of early school-leaving and non-progression to third level education. When antisocial behaviour boils over into communities, it creates difficulties and youth workers are often called for, alongside gardaí, to sort that out. In addition, Dublin 8 lacks green space. In fact, it has the lowest amount of green space per capita in the country. Along with that, a community centre that burned down almost four years ago has still not been rebuilt. Quite frankly, if I said the pace at which the project is proceeding is slow, that would be an exaggeration. Youth workers, the Garda youth diversion project and many other projects to help young people with their prosocial skills were based in the centre. It catered for many organisations involving all ages.”
“I already had a master's degree but went back and did a FETAC level 5 qualification when I became a paid professional youth worker. Youth work is political. It is very political. People ask me if I was involved in politics before and, in a roundabout way, through youth work, I was. Youth work is life-changing. I hope the Minister of State will excuse me for going off on a tangent. I have raised this Topical Issue because I represent Dublin South-Central and youth work is a vital element of our coherent community in Dublin 8, where I live. I do not know whether the Minister of State is familiar with Dublin 8 but there are five large regeneration projects in the area currently ongoing under Dublin City Council. There is a high level of drug dealing and related antisocial behaviour.”
“I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. I wish him the best of luck and look forward to working with him over the course of this term. I will be speaking on pathways to youth work at third level. Youth work in Ireland is decades old. There are many types of youth work and they exist in every community in the country. Youth workers do a job that is sometimes mistaken or misunderstood by others, and that has led, in my opinion and the opinion of many youth workers and organisations throughout the country, to the undervaluing of a profession that is vital to a coherent, equal and fair society. On a personal note, as a young person I was involved in youth theatre and then became a youth theatre leader and then a paid professional youth worker. I took a roundabout way to youth work.”
“If there will be a transfer, how can that group be supported to identify those schools? Has the Department identified which schools could be part of that transfer of patronage?”
“I know Sandymount Park Educate Together Secondary School, whose open day some years ago I was happy to attend as chair of Educate Together, is a thriving school and doing very well but a number of my neighbours and friends’ children attend that school and take two buses. They leave at 7.25 a.m. and get a bus into town and a bus out to Sandymount. Those children are exhausted coming back from school. The other day, I spoke to a friend whose child was often unable to get out of bed because he was so tired from the long journey. If that is the school provision for Dublin 8, it is too far away from the students. I know that is what it was supposed to do, but two bus trips is not in the community even if the Department says it is. How quick can reconfiguration happen? On the survey, when will we know?”
“I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive answer. Yes, it is not the answer I want but God loves a trier. The reconfiguration process has been very slow to date. The previous programme for Government had it that, I think, 400 schools would be transferred. Unfortunately, that number has not been reached yet and I did not see it in the programme for Government this time. The survey has been promised for quite a long time and I am anxious to know when exactly it will happen. The reply said there was no unmet need in Dublin 8. Will the Minister of State clarify if that is because there is a suggestion that students in Dublin 8 should travel to Dublin 10, Kylemore College, and Dublin 12, Clogher Road?”
“They also question the fact that other areas, such as Booterstown, Blackrock, Goatstown and Harold's Cross, have all been granted multidenominational schools but there are many more co-educational schools in those areas than there are in Dublin 8, and they are wondering why Dublin 8 is not being treated the same. They also wonder about planning as a huge amount of planning and building is happening in Dublin 8 at present. Where will the capacity be for the people moving into those apartments or homes? If they have children, where will they go to school? Where is the capacity there?”
“Being educated in your area with your friends is the preference for those 89% of parents who want to have their children educated there. It is about parental choice and not having the ability to send your child to a school which reflects the ethos of the family. When those parents send their children to primary schools where they are educated in a multidenominational way, they would like to continue that for secondary school. The Department has stated previously that there is sufficient capacity in Dublin 8 but this is questioned by that group. They do not believe that. Where does the capacity exist for multidenominational schools when there is not one? Where is the capacity being reached there?”
“Despite the youth population growing by 30% in the past decade, far exceeding the city and national averages, more than 50% of the children living in Dublin 8 are forced to leave the area for secondary school, including, as I said, my own children. By 2026, 2,135 students will need to travel outside the community daily. Parents have made their wishes clear and while 89% of them have said they want their children to attend a local secondary school, the system is not allowing for that. As a parent of children - teenagers and one who is 21 - let me tell the Minister of State that collecting your child outside your neighbourhood at the end of a party on a Saturday or Friday night is really a pain. As well as that, when they get a bit older, they do not want to be collected and they want to come home, the worry of that is quite immense.”