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Where are the most oversubscribed secondary schools in Ireland?

Unpublished school capacity survey shows the volume of school planning areas where demand exceeds supply of places

All post-primary schools in dozens of school planning areas areas are oversubscribed. Photograph: iStock
All post-primary schools in dozens of school planning areas areas are oversubscribed. Photograph: iStock
Carl O'Brien
Mon Mar 18 2024 - 05:00

The Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas. An unpublished school capacity survey shows the volume of these school planning areas where all post-primary schools were recorded as oversubscribed for first-year applicants last year. We have highlighted a selection of these areas below.

Our interactive map, meanwhile, shows the subscription status for each post-primary school, as reported to the department by the school’s board of management for first-year applicants in 2023.

Dublin

Ballybrack/Shankill; Booterstown/Blackrock; Blanchardstown west; Blanchardstown village; Castleknock; Carpenterstown; Goatstown/Stillorgan; Dún Laoghaire; Dublin 6W; Kilternan; Newcastle/Rathcoole; Palmerstown/Ronanstown; Rathfarnham; Rush and Lusk; Swords; Skerries; Whitehall/Santry; Malahide/Nevinstown; Palmerstown/Ronanstown; Portmarnock

Kildare

Prosperous/Clane; Celbridge; Naas; Kilcock; Kildare Town/Curragh; Maynooth; Newbridge

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Cork

Blarney; Buttevant; Carrigaline; Crosshaven; Clonakilty; Fermoy; Midleton/Carrigtwohill; Riverstown/Glanmire; Rosscarbery; Skibbereen;

Clare

Kildysart/Cahercon; Tulla

Donegal

Milford

Waterford

Kilmacthomas; Tramore

Wicklow

Greystones; Kilcoole

Galway

Athenry; Galway city; Oranmore

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Carl O'Brien

Carl O'Brien

Carl O'Brien is Education Editor of The Irish Times. He was previously chief reporter and social affairs correspondent

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