COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Thursday, December 16, 2021

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor P. Gogarty

That the Chief Executive writes to the Minister for Education and Skills and requests that a meeting be arranged between this Committee and senior officials from the Planning and Building Unit of the Department of Education to look at population trends in the Lucan and Palmerstown Fonthill Electoral Areas necessitating additional school building preparation with a particular focus on the growth of Adamstown SDZ and the commencement of planning applications for Clonburris SDZ.

REPORT:

The Department of Education and the Forward Planning team are engaging through the Development Plan preparation. The Department of Education undertake nationwide demographic review exercises. This process is key to the Department’s school planning process as it enables the Department to identify where the pressure for new school buildings or expansions will arise in the coming years across the country. As part of demographic review, the Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to analyse the relevant demographic data. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and the Department's own databases of school enrolments. With this information, the Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post primary level to determine where additional school provision is expected to be needed. It is the view of the Chief Executive that the consideration of the Development Plan is the relevant forum for this motion as the DES catchments are at a County scale.  

If the Motion is passed by the members, a letter will be written in this regard