As two boys in Tullamore are left without school places almost four weeks into the academic year, local TD Carol Nolan has criticised as an “utter disgrace” the Department of Education’s under-resourcing of schools which she said means that “these conditions will continue for many more families”.
The boys, Tyler (12) and Caiden (13), are on the waiting lists for the two schools in the Co. Offaly town that admit boys, having been left disappointed when a lottery for places at their first preference school, Coláiste Choilm didn’t go their way.
Coláiste Choilm’s admissions policy gives preference to boys who have a brother in the school, or whose brother, father or grandfather attended the school previously. Boys with a parent working at the school are also given precedence.
The boys attended a feeder school for Coláiste Choilm, and as such were the only two in their class to miss out on places, Tyler’s mother, Inga, told Gript, adding that “all of their friends are there”.
Describing the boys as “very upset”, Inga said that all they’re asking about is when they can go to school, and that the boys sit at home and wait for their friends to arrive home from school.
The boys are on a second waitlist for Tullamore College, which is also oversubscribed this year.
Speaking to Gript, Deputy Carol Nolan laid the blame for the issue at the Department of Education’s feet rather than with the schools themselves, saying increased accommodation capacity applications seem to be “slow-walked through a convoluted process”.
“The fault around these issues lies first and foremost with the Department of Education and not with the schools themselves. I have dealt with numerous schools who have increased accommodation capacity applications in with the department for years and who constantly feel as if they are being deliberately slow-walked through a convoluted process” Ms Nolan told Gript.
“I know for a fact that it can still take anything up to 18-24 months even for temporary ASD class and modular units to be delivered based on national roll out times of such projects. This is the root cause of the problem.”
Deputy Nolan said that schools often want to assist and often go “above and beyond to meet the needs of students and parents” but are hindered by the fact that they are “vastly under-resourced”.
“Without significant reform of the building application and approval process these conditions will continue for many more families and that is an utter disgrace,” she said.
The boys’ mothers were encouraged to look further afield for school places, but the next closest secondary school also has a waiting list.
It was previously reported that additional school places had been created in a number of towns around Ireland to try and alleviate the strain created by a growing population. However, reports have continued to emerge of parents struggling to secure places for their children weeks into the academic year.
With no sign of a resolution on the horizon, Inga said that all she and Caiden’s mother, Amanda can do is “go to the media and be more vocal about it”.