Educate Together welcomes today’s announcement from the Department of Education and Skills that 42 new schools are to be sanctioned in the next four years – 16 second-level schools and 26 primary schools. This year patronage will be decided on 13 primary schools and four second-level school to open in 2019, listed below.
Educate Together is looking forward to participating in the upcoming determination process for awarding patronage for these schools. Demand for Educate Together’s unique equality-based model of education has sky-rocketed all over Ireland in the last decade, in towns, cities and rural areas alike.
Whilst the areas announced today are important, Educate Together is concerned that there are additional areas not mentioned such as the area of South Kildare, in which there is mounting demand for new Educate Together schools.
Commenting on this development, Educate Together CEO Paul Rowe today stated:
“Educate Together has become a popular model of education for thousands of families across Ireland and the organisation, in partnership with campaign groups, community organisations and families, looks forward to engaging in this process. Our aim is to ensure that all new schools properly reflect the needs of the communities they serve.
We will be particularly concerned that the the Department of Education has robust and immediate plans for the permanent accommodation for all of these new schools – irrespective of which patronage is chosen. It remains unacceptable that the Irish state has no real mechanism to ensure that permanent school buildings are provided for new areas of housing in a timely fashion.”
According to the Department of Education and Skills (DES):
‘The new online Patronage system that is being developed will make it a lot easier and more efficient for parents to register their preferred patron and their preference as to whether the new school should operate through Irish or English’.
Primary schools are due to open in 2019 in:
Dublin
- Booterstown/Blackrock
- Donaghmede-Howth, Dublin 13
- Drumcondra/Marino, Dublin 1
- Dublin 6 (Clonskeagh) and Dublin 6W
- Goatstown Stillorgan
- Killester/Raheny/Clontarf
- Swords South
- Swords North
Cork
- Glassheen/Pouladuff
Kildare:
- Leixlip
- Maynooth
Wicklow
- Kilcoole
Meath
- Dunshaughlin
Second-level schools are due to open in 2019 in:
- Dubiln: Donaghmede-Howth/Dublin 13/Belmayne/Clongriffin
- Wicklow: Wicklow
- Meath/Louth: Laytown & Drogheda
- Galway: Galway City and Oranmore
Full details are on the DES website here.
