Kildare Senator and Fianna Fáil education spokesperson Fiona O’Loughlin has said that an analysis should be conducted between the Department of Education and Kildare County Council to analysis the predicted demand for primary school places in the coming years.
Senator O’Loughlin said, “Areas around South Kildare, such as Newbridge and Kildare town have seen and continue to see growth in population with many new people choosing to settle in our communities.”
“We are all aware of the pressures that exist on second level school capacity in our communities, and the Department of Education are aware and are working on short- and long-term solutions to address this demand- something I have pushed hard for.”
“It is essential that the Department learn their lesson from the capacity pressures that we have experienced at second level in our towns. We need to be proactive and to plan appropriately.”
“This I believe is especially important for the town of Newbridge. Over the 20 year period form 1996 to 2016 the towns population grew by 189%. We now have to be even more conscious in terms of strategic housing developments and the impact they could have on school capacity also.”
O’Loughlin concluded “We are attracting a lot of younger families to our area, and we are seeing a lot of construction underway. The Department of Education need to be proactive and work to avoid any potential capacity issues at primary level in future.”
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