COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN, NEWCASTLE, RATHCOOLE, SAGGART AND BRITTAS AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

MOTION NO. 26

MOTION: Councillor F. Timmons

That this Area Committee request, on behalf of Newcastle Community Council, that SDCC planning department look at the allocation-designation of a secondary school site for Newcastle in any future planning requests given that Newcastle now has the criteria of 2 allocated primary school sites. 

REPORT:

The Newcastle LAP, now expired, identified two primary schools for the projected population in Newcastle. One of these schools is built and operating and the second, adjacent to Taobh Chnoic Park, has planning permission.

A review of all school requirements, based on the projected population and zoning, reflected in the Core Strategy targets, was undertaken as part of the review of the current County Development Plan. This review was carried out in consultation with the Department of Education.

The Council has worked closely with the DoE since 2012 under a nationally agreed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to proactively identify and acquire sites for new primary and post-primary schools and to support the Department’s Schools Building Programme.

An SLO was included in the current County Development Plan as follows:

COS8 SLO 1: To identify a site for the appropriate location of a new post primary school within the Neighbourhood Area of Citywest / Saggart / Rathcoole / Newcastle to provide for the needs identified for the catchment area by the Department of Education.

The Department of Education’s school catchment area for Newcastle includes the Citywest area. While the Department is keeping school provision in Newcastle under review, they have indicated to the Council that the new secondary school in Citywest, currently under construction on Fortunestown Lane, is sufficient to cater for the school catchment population at this time.