FOUR BRAND NEW Educate Together second-level schools and two new national schools will open around the country this week.

Three of the new secondary schools are in Dublin (Dublin South City, Firhouse and Malahide/Portmarnock) and one is in Limerick.

The new primary schools are in Fermoy, Co Cork, and Dublin South City, which will be based in temporary accommodation in Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School on the South Circular Road.

None of the schools will open in their permanent accommodation. Educate Together said in a statement that this is not ideal for any developing school.

It said that it has communicated its concerns to the Department of Education and Skills regarding the planning and provision of both temporary and permanent accommodation for new schools many times.

It added that it hopes that opening new schools in permanent accommodation will become the norm in the future.

This is the second-highest number of new schools that Educate Together has opened in a single year and the educational charity now has 84 primary and 13 second-level schools around the country.

The multi-denominational school body says its growth reflects a growing demand for “equality-based” education.

“Our heartfelt congratulations to all the campaign groups who supported these new schools. We are sure these new educational facilities will greatly enhance the options available to families for many years to come,” Paul Rowe, CEO of Educate Together, said in a statement.

The reputation of Educate Together’s equality-based schools continues to grow, nurtured by the example set by existing schools, by the satisfaction of parents and children and by the very fact that Educate Together offers a level of inclusivity, openness and innovation that is unparalleled in the Irish education system.

Educate Together has plans to apply for thirteen new national schools, which would open next year, and it has already applied to open an additional four second-level schools in 2019.