Greystones Sinn Féin Area Representative Nicola Lawless and John Brady TD have sharply criticised the new pilot scheme for school enrollment in Greystones, warning that it has failed to resolve the annual crisis affecting families seeking secondary school places in the Greystones area.
The pilot scheme, announced last year and rolled out for the 2026/2027 school year, was intended to streamline the enrollment process for parents and schools. However, Lawless said the first round of offers shows that the system is not delivering the fairness, clarity, or transparency promised by the Department of Education.
Nicola Lawless said:
“Every year, we see parents in a state of panic about securing a school place for their children, and it seems this year will be no different. I have already been contacted by distressed parents following the first round of offers, and a very large number of children have not been offered a place in any of the schools.
“One parent told me her son is on the waiting list for all three post-primary schools, and in one school he is number 190. That is outrageous. Meanwhile, another parent with twins has been offered places in all three schools. How can this possibly be described as a fair or transparent system?”
Lawless said the new scheme has fundamentally failed to achieve its stated purpose.
“This pilot scheme was supposed to provide certainty and alleviate the enormous stress parents face every year. Instead, it is operating no differently to the old system, with families forced to apply to all schools separately and no central oversight to prevent children being offered multiple places while others receive none. There is still no centralised mechanism to indicate if a child has secured more than one place, leaving many families in limbo.”
Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady echoed Lawless’s concerns, expressing deep frustration at what he described as “yet another systemic failure” by the Department of Education.
Deputy Brady said:
“This pilot scheme was meant to alleviate the major stress that parents face every single year trying to secure a secondary school place for their children in the Greystones area. Unfortunately, the reality is that the scheme, covering Greystones Community College, St David’s Holy Faith Secondary School, and Temple Carrig Secondary School, has been a complete failure.
“Instead of easing pressure, it has once again placed huge stress and anxiety on parents and students alike. This is not acceptable, especially when there is already a proven, successful model in Limerick. For reasons that remain utterly baffling, the Department chose to ignore that model, despite repeated requests that it be adopted here.”
Deputy Brady confirmed he will be escalating the matter directly with the Minister.
“I am writing to the Minister immediately about this annual crisis in the Greystones area. I am calling for an urgent review of this scheme and, above all, demanding assurances that no child in the Greystones area will be left without a school place. The failures we are seeing are systemic, within both the Department of Education and the Government, and they cannot continue.”
Lawless added that the situation highlights the long-term failure of Government planning.
“The population across the Greystones Municipal District is expanding rapidly. Unless the Department steps up, we will soon face similar shortages at primary level. This reinforces the urgent need for an additional post-primary school in areas such as Newtown.”
Nicola concluded:
“The Minister and the Department must prioritise proper forward planning for existing schools and new school developments. Parents and children deserve certainty, not the chaos and stress they are being put through every single year.” Ends