Harris criticises Department of Education as families left without school places

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Minister Simon Harris has criticised the Department of Education for placing “utterly unacceptable” stress on families left without school places.

He said the department needs to get “much better” at forward planning for identifiable population booms.

It comes after reports that scores of students are receiving home tutoring due to a lack of places in oversubscribed schools.

Mr Harris, who is Minister of Further Education, said this included children in his hometown of Greystones, Co Wicklow.

He said: “My view is that the Department of Education needs to get much better at planning and much better at forward projection.

“The stress and strain that they have placed on my friends, my neighbours and my constituents in Greystones, in my hometown is utterly unacceptable.”

However, he said that Greystones Community College was able to commit additional school places on Friday morning after engagement with the Department of Education.

Mr Harris said ongoing demographic changes mean certain identifiable towns in commuter belts will see “massive population growth”.

He said schools are “bursting at the seams” waiting for extensions to be approved or for tenders to be awarded for the construction of new buildings.

The minister said the department could take those actions quickly, adding: “That would give schools the confidence to be able to assist the department in – quite frankly – a mess that is not of the schools’ making.”

Asked if Education Minister Norma Foley was failing to do enough on planning, Mr Harris said she was doing an “excellent job”.

However, he added: “There are units specifically within the department that do have a role in relation to the planning, projection, population – and they’ve gotten it wrong in relation to my hometown and I’m not best pleased about it, nor are my constituents.”