Galway is the fastest- growing city of its size in Europe. Yet, as the school-going population increases, why have measures to cope with the demand for school places been slow in coming, and why have some children been left without a school place?

'WHY is there a deafening silence?" One public representative's question about the recent situation in Galway city where four children failed to secure first-year places at post-primary school.

The four cases came to the attention of the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) almost three weeks into the new school year, and the board says it is currently working with the families. It has also advised all four to apply to the Department of Education and Science for home tuition.

Fine Gael councillor and education consultant Fidelma Healy Eames, who first highlighted the situation, believes this just isn't good enough, and warns of emerging "elitism versus social havoc" if the Minister for Education does not intervene - and if there is no action on the city's rapidly multiplying education needs.

What angers Healy Eames most, she says, is that the department had been aware since last May of difficulties in finding a school for at least one of the four. The 12-year-old boy from Westside sought to enrol in four city-based second-level schools to no avail. His best waiting list result was sixth place. One of the school refusals was appealed by the boy's parents to the department, and the decision was upheld under Section 29 of the Education Act.

The particular pupil had been described as a "quiet boy, a gorgeous child" by one of his former teachers. He was upset and embarrassed about the situation when he and his family met the councillor. "He had been resorting to telling friends about a fictional school that he was in," she says.

Galway enjoys a largely public post-primary educational system - the exception being the fee-paying colleges geared solely for the Leaving Certificate cycle. However, such is the pressure on existing educational institutions that the families whose needs are the greatest - those in areas of disadvantage - are those at most risk when the cracks develop.

Several primary school principals contacted by The Irish Times are already under pressure themselves. Scoil Iognáid in the city centre has a pre-enrolment list of about 140 for 65 junior infant places next September, while Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh, the only school in the large western suburb of Knocknacarra, has a list of 150 for 60 junior infant places. A percentage of those names would also be on lists kept by other schools, both point out.

There is no obligation on primary schools to secure secondary places for children, but several Galway primary principals concur that forward planning is a serious issue, particularly on the city's expanding edges - Knocknacarra to the west and Doughuisce to the east.

Maree Ui Chonaill, principal of Scoil Iognáid, says that her pupils haven't experienced difficulties on finishing sixth class as her school feeds into the highly popular Coláiste Iognáid or the "Jez". However, a small number have not automatically secured places in the Jez in recent years, she says.

The pressure is much greater on pupils graduating from non-feeder schools, according to another principal who said that many parents now have to opt for a third or fourth choice. There was only "anecdotal evidence" of discriminatory selection, applied by subtle methods such as high voluntary contributions, she said.

"We wouldn't want Galway to have a Limerick situation, but you can see how quickly it can happen," said one primary school administrator, referring to the situation there in 2004 where up to 20 children in that city were unable to secure post-primary placings. Some 12 pupils were subsequently placed after the intervention of the NEWB.

Galway is still living up to its record as the fastest-growing city of its size in Europe, and the population across city and county jumped by 11 per cent in the most recent Census figures. Yet no new secondary schools have opened in the last decade, and progress on additional provision by the department is both limited and painfully slow.

In addition, options for boarding have been restricted, with St Jarlath's College in Tuam phasing out residential provision, and the Benedictine order announcing that Kylemore Abbey in Connemara will close in 2010. Galway is also one of 13 counties with no Church of Ireland secondary school, the nearest being Sligo Grammar.

Early last year, the Minister instructed her officials to undertake a strategic survey of the future needs for second-level schooling in the city in response to a call from junior minister and Galway West TD Frank Fahey. The focus on school provision had arisen as a result of a row over the relocation of an existing school, St Joseph's College, known as the "Bish".

City councillors agreed that the current "Bish" site on Nun's island in the city centre was unsuitable for over 700 students, but a plan to relocate to Dangan, near NUI Galway sports grounds, fell apart for a number of reasons. When the department announced that the school would get funding instead for an extension to its existing site, the St Joseph's College board of management reacted with some dismay.

The department has also approved extensions at the Dominican College, Taylor's Hill, to cater for 650 pupils, and at Coláiste Iognáid to cater for 600. The department says that "delivery" is planned for between now and 2008. It points out that that the Minister announced provision of a new 550-pupil post-primary school in Knocknacarra, and a 650-pupil post-primary school, along with a 16-classroom primary, at Doughiska/Ardaun. All three will be built under public-private partnership schemes.

However, the westside school is a replacement for the existing Coláiste na Coiribe - a VEC school based on the Tuam road roundabout which draws many pupils from primary gaelscoileanna in the city and Knocknacarra. On the east side, city planners approved massive housing developments before any basic facilities, such as schooling, were in place.

If planners - or their political masters - are not living up to their responsibilities, it is not for want of some willingness on the part of developers, according to John O'Connor of the Government's Affordable Housing Scheme. "Developers are often willing to provide school sites if it helps with planning permission, and if they can get approval for higher density housing," he told The Irish Times.

"These are sites that may be sold to local authorities - or offered for free - but the DES is then slow to react. That's where a local authority has to be very pro-active in ensuring that the department is involved from the very start, and Fingal in north Dublin is one very good example of this."

Healy Eames believes that local authorities do need to take a more proactive role with the department, but also says that some immediate measures can be put in place in the interim, which should have national application. "There is a clear link between educational outcomes and life chances, and it is vital that the department put a reliable tracking system in place to ensure that primary pupils do get places," she says.

What's more, she also believes that the Minister and the department should monitor enrolments to ensure that all schools take a percentage of children from all social classes, ability levels and marginal groups. And she believes that an alternative curriculum should be provided for pupils of low ability and motivational levels to ensure that they don't drop out early.