Ireland running out of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees due to surge in non-Ukrainian refugees?

They are, massively oversubscribed, because there's so few of them that there simply isn't enough to meet parental demand. There is competition for places in all types of schools particularly in the Dublin area where oversubscription is a perennial problem due to our increasing population, and the demand for the establishment of new schools.

I don't get the impression at all that Gaelscoileanna are, or will be used as a handy way for selecting out large numbers of immigrants or children from families with low educational backgrounds simply because the opportunities for that sort of behaviour already exist in schools, the vast majority of which are under the patronage of the Catholic Church (represented as a patron body by the Bishops of Ireland), leaving other patrons such as An Foras Patrunachta and Educate Together to fight over the scraps, or rather Patronage of the establishment of any new schools -

The move to revise the policy follows a formal investigation by the office of An Coimisinéir Teanga Rónán Ó Domhnaill into a decision not to award patronage to an Irish-medium inter-denominational school in north Dublin in 2016.

The bid for a school in the Drumcondra/Marino and Dublin 1 area was turned down despite the fact that the parents of 361 students had demonstrated their preference that Irish-medium education be available to them. Educate Together was awarded patronage on the basis that it had 622 expressions of interest.

Mr Ó Domhnaill concluded that the language provisions of the Education Act relating to the language and cultural needs of students, along with parental choice, had not been fulfilled by the department in the process to appoint a patron.

New criteria to remove obstacle to Irish-medium schools

Many Gaelscoileanna at second-level consistently rank towards the top-end of feeder schools in the country which send the highest proportion of their students on to third-level.

Some sceptics say their rise in popularity has more to do with middle-class families seeking to secure social advantage through exclusionist policies, such as Irish-language tests.

Despite more Irish language schools in working-class areas and more parents from non-Irish backgrounds vying to send their children, do accusations of elitism hold water?

Bláthnaid Ní Ghréacháin, CEO of Gaelscoileanna Teo – a national voluntary organisation supporting the development of Irish schools at primary and post-primary – says the problem is simply an issue of demand outstripping supply.

“We’re back to the age-old problem where parental demand isn’t being taken into account sufficiently.

“Parents seeking Irish-medium education will always be in the minority in a community, so voices will not be as loud as Educate Together, for example,” says Ní Ghréacháin.

“The oversubscription leads to disappointment on behalf of parents and creates pressure in the system. Invariably, when people are disappointed and their child does not get a place, this leads to accusations of elitism.”

Ní Ghréacháin says while parents’ interest is piqued by the schools appearance in league tables, parents are motivated by genuine interest for their children to be educated through our native language.

Why is it so hard to get a place in a Gaelscoil?

As a parent of schoolkids I ask why is it so hard to get a school place for my kids anywhere, yes.

And then I look around and ask why is it so hard to see a doctor, to find a guard when you need one, to find somewhere to live. FFS what a mess.

I don’t think the government parties are capable of such strategic thinking.

In any case, in the three seater constituency in which Ballymun is in. Sinn Féin’s TD, alleged mass murderer Dessie Ellis, won 44% of the vote. Almost two quotas. The right wing parties would need to see an exponential increase on the 1.5% they achieved at the last election.

You are trying to have a reasonable civil discussion about something you want to talk about.

You have no interest in a reasonable discussion when anyone asks you something you don't want to talk about.

I'm genuinely interested on why you think this policy is a benefit to Ireland.

Is the absolute scutter from the likes of Joe and his buddies in the media that will lead to the "rise of the right"

Sometimes it feels like they actively want it

He doesn't care.

Heard on the radio this morning that housing completion needs to be 40k this year and 75k there after. We are looking at a 50% shortfall in housing each year on existing demand which has not been met.

If it breaks 30k this year and 40k next year it will a big achievement for any Govt.

Joe will end up in some cushy job,like environmental officer for a building developer or a state funded quango. Tom Parlon part 2.

Very accurate post. I heard from a journalist who attended some of these protests in Sinn Fein heartlands that they are getting the majority of the abuse from the protesters. Regular chants of 'Sinn Fein Traitors '. Anecdotal I know but Sinn Fein will not like that trend. Interesting to see how they respond.

A volte face open door immigration policy from the only opposition party leader in Europe with a foreign flag as their social media avatar is unlikely.

What may encourage Sinn Fein to wake up and smell the coffee is if their immigration policy permanently scuppers the chances of a united Ireland, their raison d’etre.

Thousands of new citizens with no ethnic or religious affiliation to nationalists in Northern Ireland may be very disinclined to vote for a United Ireland that could lead to increased taxation and competition for resources.

If SF were to call for tougher measures on immigration and international protection, it would not merely be a vote winner, they would win the next election in a landslide victory.

This would require them to change their tune on the subject, however.

Ditto FG/FF. Though, of course, they are likely too wedded to neo liberalism, supranational careerism and, hence, plantation politics at this point to change course that quickly.

Some limited reversals will occur among the mainstream parties as native anger mounts, as has been the experience in other European countries.

What's the point though? Why do people even care about what SF pretend to support? Because that's all it would be, a pretense. It would get them the votes to get into power, give false hope to those who voted for them, then do nothing about it. The likes of FF & FG would sit back laughing, knowing that nothing will be done, and that SF will be out in the next election, only for them to step back into power again. A merry go round of complete pointlessness.

Dream on guys.

SF has taken a consistently supportive position on refugees and immigrants for two decades now.

I see no good reason to believe this will be changing ahead of the next election.

What makes a school a good school?

One might say results, but they are more strongly influenced by parents and home life than the school itself.

So what are you really choosing then? Isn't it really your children's peers?

Of course it isn't true of everyone and would have been less true years ago. Prior to the early noughties, Ireland was effectively a homogeneous society.

There absolutely has been white flight to these kind of schools along with others that have a level of difficulty in accessing.

I've banged on long enough about this tangential issue to the topic at hand. I'll leave it there but might open a thread on it.

quick google tells me yes, plenty of them seem to have taken them in, fair play to them. the middle class parents must be furious.