New 1000-pupil secondary school planned for Galway

Seán Kyne TD

Galway, Friday, 13th April ‘18

New 1000-pupil secondary school planned for Galway

Sean Kyne, Minister for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development and Fine Gael TD for Galway West and Mayo South has today (Friday) confirmed that Galway is to receive a new secondary school as part of a national programme of new schools for the years 2019 – 2022.

The new second-level school will be located in the City or Oranmore area and will have the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 pupils.

Commented Minister Kyne: “The inclusion of a new second-level school for Galway is very welcome and, along with a national total of 42 new schools, shows Minister for Education, Richard Bruton’s determination to ensure that our country has the best education and training system in Europe.

“The new school for Galway, projected to open in 2019, will address the needs of the growing population of our city and country. The decision to establish a new school in Galway is based on the Department of Education’s demographic analysis and will also, Minister Bruton has confirmed, ‘be responsive to patronage demand’.

“Minister Bruton also confirmed that a new online Patronage Process system is being developed which will make it easier for parents to have their say on the management model of new schools in their area.

“The Patronage Process for the new school in Galway will begin this year and while I do not wish to pre-empt such a process it would make sense to have a new school in Galway managed by a patron not already in Galway. An obvious example is the Educate Together model which does not yet have a second-level school in Galway. A new school under that patron would serve the hundreds of pupils attending the Educate Together primary schools in Galway.”