The shortage of school places for children is because the Government has “not made education a priority for this term” of Dáil Éireann, the Labour Party has claimed. 

Currently, dozens of children are being homeschooled because they have not been allocated a school place.  

On Newstalk Breakfast, Dublin MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the figures come as “no surprise” to him and said Government legislation is to blame. 

“Most TDs will have had over the course of the summertime, desperate parents coming to them struggling to get a secondary school place,” he said. 

“In 2018, the Government brought in a School Admissions Act, which meant that 25% of all places could be kept aside for the children or grandchildren of past pupils,” he said. 

“So, if you have moved to a new area in the commuter belt, not only is it difficult for you to get used to the area and the dynamics of the area, you’re also facing the extra disadvantage of this 25% rule that’s only been brought in since 2018.” 

The entrance to Government Buildings. Image: robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Ó Ríordáin said the Department needs to take a more “hands on” approach on this issue and force schools to expand where the local population is growing. 

“If a school decides it doesn’t want to increase school capacity, it just doesn’t,” he said. 

“The Department won’t force it to. 

“We had a situation in my own constituency in Dublin Bay North… where we were trying to get a new secondary school in the area. 

“We were successful in the end but there was huge resistance from the Department to establish a new secondary school, saying the demographics didn’t justify it.” 

In 2025, it is expected that over half of all schools in Ireland will be oversubscribed. 

Parents have been advised to apply for more than one school on behalf of their child.

Main image: Taoiseach Simon Harris meeting school children. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo