Secondary schools in the city and county are coming under immense pressure to meet the demand for first year places next September.

As parents in the city and surrounding towns are left scrambling to find a spot for their children, the Department of Education has conceded that it is still searching for a solution to the dearth of places.

And as one city parent told the Connacht Tribune of her distress at having to “beg” for a place for her son, Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon said Athenry schools were facing a shortage of up to 80 first year places.

In a statement to the Tribune, the Department said part of the problem in the city was applications from parents “outside the local area”.

“The Department is aware of pressures for school places for the 2024/2025 school year in Galway City.

But according to Deputy Cannon, the shortage of space doesn’t stop at the city boundary, as Athenry’s three secondary schools couldn’t keep up with demand.

“They’re telling me that there will be a shortage of up to 80 first year places in September. They will also receive requests for enrolments across other years, arising from people moving into the area,” said the Fine Gael TD.

Deputy Cannon said the Department had previously identified pressures on the Athenry secondary schools and delivered new 1,000-pupil school buildings for Presentation College and Clarin College.

“Additionally, there are projects in the pipeline for a new 450-pupil school building for Coláiste an Eachraidh and an extension to increase provision to 1,500 pupils for Clarin College,” he said.

While this was “encouraging”, it would take up to three years before this additional capacity was available to parents and their children.

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