Builders should be compelled to provide school sites

THE Dublin Catholic archdiocese has decided to pilot a new admissions policy in two schools in the Porterstown parish in my Dublin West constituency.

Two-thirds of places will be given to Catholic children and one-third to non-Catholics.

In each case siblings and older children will have priority.

I welcome this new policy as it protects the ethos of Catholic primary schools while also promoting integration within our community.

I should point out, however, that this change in policy is largely cosmetic. Last year, the schools concerned did not reserve any places for non-Catholic children.

However, they did give siblings of children already in the school preference over all other children regardless of religion.

As a result, even with the strict ‘Catholics first’ policy in operation, 29% of junior infants accepted by these schools were non-Catholic. The new policy will only increase that proportion by 4%. Last summer, the Department of Education was forced to establish an emergency school located three miles away in Blanchardstown to cater for the 90 children who could not get a place in either of the two schools concerned.

As there has been no increase in the number of school places in the area, the situation will be no different this year and once again many local children will have to attend the emergency school. Once again, almost all of them will be the children of immigrants.

Catholic schools in Ireland have always opened their doors to local children of other faiths. The problem that has arisen in west Dublin and other rapidly developing areas is much more about school places than it is about enrolment policies.

Rather than blaming parents, school boards, patron bodies and bishops, the ministers for education and the environment should introduce radical reforms to the way we plan, build and manage new schools.

The Planning and Development Act must be amended to require that school sites be handed over by developers for free in the same way as open spaces, public roads, footpaths, sewers, public lighting and water services. Currently, local authorities have no statutory involvement in school planning other than the power to reserve possible future school sites. Local authorities should be required to take the availability of school places into account in granting planning permission for new houses and apartments in the same way as they must take into account other planning issues such as road infrastructure, water and drainage.

The special integrated planning model being used in Adamstown should be the norm, not the exception. At the same time, the education minister should adopt Fine Gael’s proposal to grant schools a capitation bonus for international children.

Consideration should be also given to the creation of a special designation for schools with large numbers of international children similar to the special designation in disadvantaged areas. This would ensure more resources and smaller class sizes thus making integration so much easier.

Leo Varadkar TD

Leinster House

Kildare Street

Dublin 2